Pastor Bakare is okay with northerner taking over from Buhari in 2023

Founder of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, does not care where President Muhammadu Buhari's successor is from, as long as they're competent.

There's an unwritten agreement on the rotation of the presidency between the north and the south.

And with the incumbent President Buhari, a northerner, set to end his second four-year term in 2023, many have demanded his successor be a southerner.

However, Bakare said in a televised interview on Tuesday, August 24, 2021 that competence should be a better criteria for who will emerge Nigeria's next president.

He said zoning of the presidency is unconstitutional and should therefore not be given too much prominence in political permutations.

He said, "At this moment, what is needed is the person who can do it. Look at other nations of the world.

"Political parties should bring their best forward. Let the best of the best emerge. 

"It can go to the south, it can go to the north. It's only one seat."

He also said the age of candidates should not be a big deal because age is a function of the mind and doesn't matter much in developed nations.

Bakare, a former running mate to Buhari, expressed shock at how badly the incumbent president's running of the country has been in the past six years.

He said Nigeria's next leader must care about the country more than their own stomach, and must be able to put together a team that can sustain the nation's unity.