Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Former Governor of Kano State , Ibrahim Shekarau , has said Nigeria ’ s next president should come from the Southern part of the country .
He said by 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari who is from the northern part of the country , would have been in power for eight years , and “ common sense tells that we should look the other side, to the Southern part of Nigeria ” .
Shekarau , who represents Kano Central District in the Senate , added , “ There is common sense expectation of balancing and giving everybody a sense of belonging and fairness. ”
He , however , said reliable and competent hands should be entrusted with the responsibility of leading Nigeria in 2023.
The All Progressives Congress Senator spoke on Thursday while featuring on a television programme.
When asked about his position on the growing call for a South -East presidency in 2023, Shekarau said , “ I don’ t call it zoning , I would rather call it some balancing .
There has to be some sense of belonging . There is what I call the constitution of common sense .
“ The Constitution of Nigeria or the constitution of any of the political parties didn ’ t say if I am from the North, my running mate must be from the South . It is not written but if today, I am a presidential candidate from Kano and I tell you my running mate is from Bauchi , you will say something is wrong with me.
“ The presidency has just been from the North for eight years . Common sense tells that we should look the other side, to the Southern part of Nigeria . We should recognise the North and the South , this is elementary geography and history .
“ Perception is what you have to carry along . If you continue to dominate on one particular side, the perception from the other side is, ‘ What about me?’”
When asked if he has started nursing the ambition to run for president in 2023, the one- time presidential candidate said , “ I don’ t know about that. We haven’ t gotten there yet , ” but quickly added , “ I am already giving it some thoughts . ”
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