Power struggle splits Nigeria’s elites North and South

Nigeria’s next president should come from the country’s southern region, representatives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the governors of the southern states said in a joint communiqué on July 10, VANGUARD reported.

The communiqué was read out following the results of the Forum of Southern Governors by its chairman and head of the southern state, Ondo state governor, Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu.

The statement immediately drew sharp condemnation from the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), which accused southern governors of blackmail and said that the president is elected democratically, not on a north-south rotating basis.

“We are run by a democratic government, and the decision of where the next president will come from is a decision that will be made by voters exercising their rights to choose which candidate is in their best interest.”

A coalition of northern groups, CNG, spoke in the same vein, accusing southern governors of uniting against the North in the run-up to 2023. However, six northern governors supported the South’s position.

In 2023, the current President Muhammadu Buhari will have to leave his position after serving two terms, according to Nigeria’s current constitution.