Kalu cautions northern elite campaigning against zoning – TheNigerialawyer

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has cautioned the
northern political elite against canvassing an end to rotational
presidency as from 2023.

Kalu, a two-term governor of Abia State, stated this in an
interview with our correspondent in Abuja following the call by the
Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, for an end to power shift
in the country.

He maintained that nobody should canvass an end to power shift
until the South-East and the North-East geopolitical zones had
produced the President of Nigeria.

The principal officer of the senate noted that the agreement at
the end of the 1978 national conference was that all the major
ethnic groups in Nigeria must produce the President on a rotational
basis.

He said, “Calling for an end to the zoning arrangement now will
not bring peace to Nigeria. We have to complete the zoning system.
That was the agreement at the earlier constitutional conference.
All the major ethnic groups must produce the President before we
would all agree that zoning has ended.

“Canvassing the abolition of rotational presidency at this point
is not in the interest of the country. It will not bring about
unity. Anybody that is saying that the zoning arrangement for the
Presidency of Nigeria should be abolished now is trying to cause
civil and constitutional crisis which is not good for the
society.

“We should manage the crises at hand carefully in this country
without causing further havoc. Currently, the unity of the country
is under threat with the insecurity of lives and property across
Nigeria.”

Kalu warned against causing disunity among Nigerians but rather,
everyone must work together to bring the nation back to a stable
and peaceful state.

“Governor el-Rufai should know that the South-East and the
North-East must produce the President before his call for the
abolition of rotational presidency could be considered and
adopted.

“Once the two zones have produced the President of Nigeria, then
the position could be free for all. We have started the current
zoning arrangement and we can’t change the rules in the middle of
the game,” he said.

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