By Dirisu Yakubu
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Alex Kadiri has called on prospective Presidential aspirants from the North Central zone to perish the thought of succeeding Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, saying there is nobody of substance from the zone fit for the exalted office.
The ex-lawmaker who represented Kogi East from 1999 to 2003 at the National Assembly stated this in a chat with a select team of journalists in Abuja on Sunday.
According to him, the ruling party will be doing itself a world of good by having Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum to run on a joint ticket in 2023.
He said, “I am a recognized leader in the North- Central. They invite me to all their meetings. There is nobody of substance who has the capacity to be President from North Central in 2023. Please, prove me wrong and bring that person. At my age, I am not looking for anything from anybody. I am not looking for work. I can only say my mind now.”
The zone, he added, should vie for APC national chairmanship instead.
Justifying his call for a President of Southern extraction, the former lawmaker said other geo-political zones have had their share of plum offices since the return to democracy in 1999.
“Olusegun Obasanjo was President of Nigeria for eight years. Now Yemi Osinbajo is Vice President and in 2023, he would have spent eight years. I think for the sake of fairness, it is only right and proper for the people of the South-West to shelve the idea of producing the President.
“North-West should also forget it. The South-Easterners are my in-laws and there are more Igbos coming to this house than any other tribe in Nigeria because of my wife. So, I cannot have ill feelings towards an Igbo man.
The fact of the matter is that Igbos with their republican attitude to everything can’t be President of Nigeria this present time (2023).
“Whether you like it or not, Rotimi Amaechi still stands as a viable person. He has experience and good health. Anybody we are considering today as President must be healthy. We can’t move from Yar’ Adua (Umaru) to Buhari (Muhammadu) and then to Tinubu (Bola). If Amaechi and Zulum can put their acts together, this country can move forward.”
Away from national politics, Kadiri also chided Governor Yahaya Bello for “doing nothing since his administration came on board a few years ago.”
“There are no development efforts going on in any of the senatorial districts in Kogi state including his (governor) own. He tried rushing one bridge in his home town and after two weeks, the bridge collapsed. Nothing is going on in Kogi East and there is no federal presence apart from the Federal Polytechnic, Idah which has been there for years,” he added.
