2023: Southern presidency sacrosanct - Yoruba Ronu

Yoruba Ronu Group (YRG) chairman Prince Diran Iyantan expressed support on Friday for calls for the presidency to be partitioned into southern zones in 2023.

Iyantan, who stated this in a statement in Akure, warned politicians who promote the concept of a northern presidency

He said the call for a northern presidency could be seen as an attempt to heat up politics and “further polarize the country over more issues than we have on our hands right now.”

Iyantan, a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chiefdom Affairs in Ondo State, alleged that the Nigerian political elite was deliberately promoting disunity as a political weapon.

“Acts like that clearly show negative images of the country and are capable of misleading the country on a departure journey from its current season of peace and prosperity.

“Politicians, during this election season, must focus on those positive areas relevant to uniting us as a nation.

“Everyone must ensure that what is broadcast to the public are materials that enhance peace, unity and national development in view of the critical moment that the country is going through.

“Favorable unifying comments are what should be promoted in the media to ensure that tensions are not further exacerbated,” he said.

He urged politicians to observe decorum during election campaigns.

“The base of our political class must avoid acts capable of promoting disunity. We must ensure that the words spoken by us are those that project cohesion, but not chaos.

“We must express our love for this country instead of emphasizing tribal and religious differences and generating wrong beliefs by misleading one part of the country to appear superior to others.

“The only important factor for the sustenance of unity in the country is the continuous rotating presidency.

“The falsehood preached that ‘candidates from the south do not have numerical strength to win elections’ must be thrown overboard for the unity of our beloved country,” he said.

Iyantan urged the political parties participating in the 2023 elections to consider the presidential candidates from the southern part of the country for fairness, equity and justice.

“However, in the interest of fairness, fairness and justice, we must seriously correct the mistake before such events occur.

“Therefore, the ‘presidency of the south’, this time, in 2023, must be considered sacred for the continued unity of the nation,” he said.