The Nigeria Equity Group (NEG) has faulted the recent call by the Muslims Right Council (MURIC) for a Yoruba Muslim to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, who will complete his second and final term in office in 2023.

MURIC had in a statement argued that Christians from the Southwest have had their fair share of leadership in the country and that the presidency in 2023 should be reserved for a Muslim from the Southwest.

NEG however kicked against this position, stating that this would go against the principles of rotation of power, which was championed by the political class to ensure balance, equity and fairness in our body polity.

NEG, which is a civil society group that advocates for equity in the Nigerian political space, argues that the principle rotation of power also applies to the two major faiths of Christianity and Islam.

“Giving that the current President is a Muslim and from the North, fairness, justice and equity demand that, based on the principles of rotation of power between the North and South, the next president should be a Christian from the South,” NEG insisted in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, signed by its National Convener, Dr Emeka Nwosu.

It added: “The position of the NEG is that it would be against the rule of natural justice, equity and fairness, that another Muslim should succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

“For emphasis, we reiterate that the only way to guarantee enduring peace, progress and stability in Nigeria is for the next President to be a Christian from the South.”

See the full statement below:

We have noted with concern the call by the Muslims Right Council, (MURIC), for a Yoruba Muslim to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2023.

In a well-publicized statement, MURIC, speaking through its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, said that the Christians in the South West, have had their fair share of presidential power since the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999.

The group cited the eight years of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, from 1999-2007, and the current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in a second term with President Muhammadu Buhari, since 2015 till date, as adequate representation for the Christians in the south West.

Similarly, the group also cited the interregnum of Chief Shonekan as Interim Head of State, as another evidence of Yoruba Christian domination of presidential power in the South West.

While the Nigeria Equity Group (NEG) appreciates the concerns of the learned Prof, and the MURIC, on the need for equity, justice and fairness in political and economic opportunities for all groups, the issue of the 2023, is beyond what the South West alone can decide.

It may be pertinent to state here for the umpteenth time that, the practice of rotational presidency between the North and South of the country was introduced by the political class to address the imbalance in the polity among the various groups in the country, which include ethnicity and religion.

Giving that the current President is a Muslim and from the North, fairness, justice and equity demand that, based on the principles of rotation of power between the North and South, the next president should be a Christian from the South.

The position of the NEG is that it would be against the rule of natural justice, equity and fairness, that another Muslim should succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

For emphasis, we reiterate that the only way to guarantee enduring peace, progress and stability in Nigeria is for the next President to be a Christian from the South.

We would therefore like to urge the MURIC to consider the wider dimensions of the 2023 presidential power rotation, which involves all the Southern States, as against only the South West.

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