One of the political leaders in the north, Tanko Yakassai, says the presidency would not go to Ndigbo on a platter of gold, as it requires the endorsement of at least 25 per cent of at least 24 states to make it possible.
Appearing on a television programme on Tuesday, the elder statesman, said South East need to calm down and play their politics right if they want the presidency to go to their region in 2023.
He said, “I know there is agitation by the South-East because they have never tasted it (presidency). South West has tasted it, the North has and still tasting it, South-South has through Goodluck Jonathan…
“I have tremendous sympathy with the people of South-East because out of the three major Ethnic groups, Igbo Yoruba, Hausa, it is only the Igbo that has never tasted it. That has not satisfied the yearning of the defunct NPN leaders who were thinking that zoning and rotation should take care of the yearning of every section of the country.
“But I want to say that our compatriot from the South-East should wake up and realize that Nnamdi Kanu would not be a type of people who will take the presidency to the South-East because you need 25 per cent of votes from 24 states.
“There are no 24 states in any section of Nigeria, you must gain from the North and gain from the South. Nobody can dash presidential office or any elective office to anybody.
“Well by their own fortune or misfortune, the South-East is virtually a land-lock area, not only in terms of proximity to the sea but also in terms of relationship with other Nigerians, Hausas and Yorubas.”
The elder statesman went further to suggest that the major challenge the Igbo would face in the quest to produce the next president would be from the south west and not with the North.
This he said was because the South-East was in competition with the South-West and not with the North.