Sanusi faults zoning, says Nigeria may have 2 useless presidential candidates in 2023

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and deposed Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, has knocked the idea of rotating the presidency between the northern and the southern parts of the country.

Sanusi said the political arrangement could leave Nigeria with two useless presidential candidates in the 2023 general elections.

Recall that southern governors recently resolved that the next president of Nigeria must be a southerner.

The governors also threatened to oppose any political party that presents a northerner as a presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.

However, Sanusi, while speaking on Arise Television said he has always been opposed to the idea of a rotational presidency.

He said what Nigeria needs is a president that can deliver.

He said, “I have always objected to this idea that we should focus on where the president comes from. We have got southern governors saying we want the presidency and some northern governors saying that they want it in the north. Have you noticed that nobody has given the name of what they want?

“This whole thing is to corner the presidency to one part of the country and the big masquerade will come out. And that is why at the end of the exercise, you end up as Nigeria… presented with two useless candidates. Those who want to be president should show their face either from the north or the south.

“Meanwhile, we have before us very serious issues. You have a simple issue of electronic transmission of results which is designed to make the electoral process fairer and you have people saying that they do not want it, shamelessly announcing to the country that they want to rig. Why are we not talking about these issues?

“Give me a president from any part of the country who can deliver and we should vote for him. He is not taking the presidency to his home town.”

On the Value Added Tax (VAT) saga between the federal government and some governors, the former CBN governor faulted the governors slamming the FG, saying they are also guilty of not distributing funds to the local governments.

“These governors fighting for VAT are extremely undemocratic. They hold on to money meant for the local governments yet keep complaining”, he said.

“The state governors complain about what federal government does to them but don’t care about what they do to the local governments, thereby ignoring the constitution."

Sanusi maintained that if Nigeria indeed wants to practice true federalism, the constitution must be respected at all tiers of government.