Shehu Sani Reveals Reason Northerners Will Never Give Up Presidency

Former senator and human rights activist, Shehu Sani, has revealed the reason Northern governors are refusing to let go of the presidency in 2023.

The senator said that though it is an obligation of APC to return power to the South it might not occur because the PDP is more interested in securing the seat for the party than in presenting a Southern presidential candidate.

Sani made this known in an interview with Saharareporters on Sunday, while sharing his thoughts on the ongoing clash between the Northerners and Southerners over the 2023 presidential seat.

He stated that the reason the Northerns may be angry and refusing to maintain the gentleman’s agreement of ceding power to the South might be because of issues such as the ban of open grazing, the issue of VAT, and the separatist agenda going on in the South.

He also stated that there was the issue of the opposition not having any candidate apart from Atiku Abubakar that was ready to pump enough money into the presidential campaign in 2023.

He said: “Well, first of all, it is important for you to understand that politicians hardly respect Gentleman’s Agreement. That’s one. And, what could have warranted the decision of the Northern governors are a number of issues which include the belligerent attitude of the governors from the South on the issue of open grazing, and the issue of VAT.

“These are issues that could have been resolved on the table, but since things have changed with the North not to concede power to the South (sic). Another one is separatist agitation. I believe these are the basic things that have changed the narratives and there is a likelihood if the situations were normal, they would have agreed with it. But, it has reached a stage where daggers are being drawn from both sides.

 “The situations are different with the two political parties. For the APC, it is honourable for the APC to shift power to the South, but the condition is not the same with the PDP for a number of reasons. Number one is that they are an opposition party, they do not have the leverage and the privilege to say this is where the candidate will come from.

“Two, there is no viable presidential candidate in the opposition party who is willing to pump all his resources in the quest for the presidency of Nigeria as an opposition party. Atiku Abubakar remains the only viable person from the opposition party for a number of reasons because he has been contesting for a long time and they don’t have the power of deciding where power should come from.

“So, how they will win the election is first what is paramount to them. But for APC, it is incumbent on them because the President would have spent 8 years by 2023, so it is morally responsible for them to honour it, but in PDP, it is dicey because they are not in power.”