A former President of the Senate, Chief Pius Anyim, on Thursday, appealed to all political parties to zone their presidential slots to the South-East region.
If they failed to do this, he said the issue would remain a burden on the conscience of the nation.
This is just as he said the responses to his presidential bid have been “overwhelmingly encouraging.”
Anyim, spoke during his South-East briefing and consultation with stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party at the Best Western Hotel, Enugu, said that the South-East had all it takes to stop Nigeria from collapsing.
He said, “When I declared my interest to contest for the presidency, I was emphatic that I will contest whether the presidency is zoned to the South or not. This is because if the presidency is zoned to the South-East, it will satisfy the just demand of equity and fairness. If it is not zoned to the South-East, it will remain a burden on the conscience of the nation.
“Let me, therefore, at this point join all well-meaning Nigerians to appeal to all the political parties to take the fair, just and equitable decision to zone their presidential slots to the South, particularly the South-East.”
The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation said he is offering himself for the service of the country while noting that the challenge before his party is how to deliver on the expectations of Nigerians as the country prepares for the 2023 elections.
He noted, “Nigerians are looking up to the PDP to rebuild our nation; to protect lives and property; to restore the respect of Nigeria within the comity of nations; to re-align the political structure of Nigeria to reflect the current realities; to revive our economy and save the naira; to rebuild our broken-down social fabric; to create jobs for our teeming youths and rehabilitate our collapsing educational systems among others.
“My brothers and sisters, the summary of these expectations is that Nigerians expect PDP to return to power so that our nation can resume the march to greatness.
“The above tasks are no mean ones. The political pedigree, vision and credentials of who leads the party to accomplish these tasks must command priority attention and consideration of our great party. It is in furtherance of this that I put forth my credential and records for your consideration.”
Meanwhile, the South-East elders, National Assembly members and leaders have endorsed Anyim’s presidential aspiration.
The Igbo leaders gave their endorsement after the consultative session in Enugu, in a resolution signed by the Chairman of the session and a former governor of Abia State, Sen. Theodore Orji and Chief Duru Oheoma (SAN).
It read in part, “That we appeal to the Peoples Democratic Party in the interest of equity, justice and harmonious national cohesion to zone their presidential ticket to the Southern zones of the country and the South-East in particular.”
