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A former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, says Nigerians must avoid the pitfalls of ethno-religious politics in order to choose the right leader come 2023.
Sheriff said this while receiving in audience members of an All Progressives Congress pressure group, Frontier for Equality Leadership and Good Governance, in his office, on Thursday.
He said competence should be the main focus of Nigerians in making a choice.
The former governor said, “If the man that will bring succour to Nigeria is coming from a mountain in Ogoja, we should go and look for him.
“If it is in the extreme end of Adamawa, we should go and look for him. If he is coming from the end of Anambra, we should go and look for him. We must do soul-searching and look for a leader.
“Unless we all believe in ourselves as a nation, and believe all of us are equal, and believe that a good leader will emerge from any part of the country, regardless of his religion, tribe or where he comes from, we will not succeed in getting it right in this country we dearly love.”
He noted that Nigeria is a very interesting country in terms of diversity, stating that we can turn our diversity into strength by harnessing our human and material resources for the benefit of all.
The APC chieftain said his party, the APC, must work harder than ever before to gain the confidence of Nigerians in order to retain power beyond 2023.
He noted that by the end of the tenure of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in 2023, the APC would have to work extra-hard to gain a fraction of the 12 million votes which the Buhari brand had carried with it over the years.
In response to a call by members of the group for him to contest for the national chairmanship of the APC, he said he would only contest if the position is zoned to the North East.
Earlier, the Director General of the group, Richards Adam, while speaking on behalf of other members, appealed to the former governor and federal lawmaker to consider a run for the national chairmanship of the party.
He said, “Our party needs your experience and commitment to reposition ahead of 2023.”
