THE Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum, comprising Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Middle Belt Forum and Pan Niger Delta Forum, has commended the Peoples Democratic Party governors of South-South and South-West and other key stakeholders of the party in the two zones on their quest for equity and fairness in the country power equation.
The forum made its position known on Thursday, in a statement jointly signed by the leader of PANDEF, Dr Edwin Clark; leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; President-General, Ohanaeze Worldwide, Prof. George Obiozor; and National President, Middle Belt Forum, Dr Pogu Bitrus.
The statement read, “The reaffirmation of the declaration of the Southern Governors at Asaba, Delta State, in May last year, on the zoning of the Presidency of the country to the South by the PDP leaders at their recent meetings in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and Ibadan, Oyo State respectively, is a reassuring demonstration of the unanimity and resolve that the next President of Nigeria should come from the South, in the national interest.
“It must be noted that zoning had been practised in the nation’s polity since independence and remains sacrosanct. When Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, in 1960, was the Prime Minister of Nigeria, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was Governor-General.
