Home / Lead Story / Reject North-South rotation of presidency; It’s not in your interest – Prof. M. J. Balogun tells South East
Prof. Murtala J. Balogun

Reject North-South rotation of presidency; It’s not in your interest – Prof. M. J. Balogun tells South East

An elder statesman and Special Adviser to the President of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly, Prof. Murtala J. Balogun, has warned the people of the South East geo-political zone of the country of the danger in backing rotation of the presidency between the North and the South.

Prof. Balogun, who is also a former Director-General of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), gave the warning while reacting to a recent news report that quoted Mr. Laolu Akande, erstwhile spokesman of former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, as telling Northern politicians to perish the thought of power returning to the North in 2027.

Akande had argued that incumbent President, Chief Bola Tinubu should be allowed to complete his second term in office before power could return to the North in line with the system of rotation of power between the the North and the South.

The former presidential spokesman was reacting to moves by some political actors in the North to come together to try to vote Tinubu out of office in 2027 so that power could return to the northern part of the country.

But Prof. Balogun, in his reaction to Akande’s position, said: “I am surprised that the South-East does not see the danger that lies ahead,” if such rotation of power formula is retained.

According to the outspoken academic and diplomat, “Power is currently in the South. If the rotational presidency logic keeps Tinubu in office in 2027 and he completes the South’s eight-year stint, power must, by that same logic, return to the North. That means, the South East will have to wait another eight years to have a shot at the Number One post!”

He stressed that what should concern the South East now should be an agitation for a merit based succession plan with the focus being that the best candidate for the job should be elected in the interest of the country.

“Shouldn’t the (South East) zone be in the forefront of the struggle for merit? Rotation will not be in its best interest,” he said, stressing that what should be of uppermost consideration should be a system that “produces a candidate with answers to Nigeria’s problems.”

About Global Patriot Staff

Check Also

Partnership with Google will turn Nigeria to global tech hub – FG

By Stellamaris Ashinze Lagos, Feb. 13, 2025 The Federal Government on Thursday  said its partnership …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *