Anyim Pius Anyim, a former president of the senate and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says although the south-east is entitled to the presidential seat in 2023, it would have to persuade other regions for support.
Anyim said this on Saturday while speaking at the national convention of the United for Better Nigeria Initiative (UBNI) held in Abuja.
The former senate president encouraged the south-east to go ahead with the campaign for presidency with an attitude of persuasion.
“Is it right for the south-east to produce the next president? My answer is legally no, and the reason is that the constitution is clear. The constitution says every Nigerian of 40 years is entitled to aspire for that office,” he said.
“On the other side, morally, is it right? Is it an entitlement? I will say yes because the federal character principle enshrined in the constitution encourages rotation.
“The reason I have to make this clarification is that when the right you have is not legal, the only approach and the instrument you have is persuasion.
“So, the approach, the language will be to persuade others to see reason with you that morally they should support you to take a turn since it rotates.”