A civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has condemned moves to retain the 2023 Presidency in the North by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC).

HURIWA insisted that the two parties, as well as other political parties should zone their presidential slots to the Southeast “for the sake of justice and fairness.”

HURIWA urged all political parties to do what will ensure the unity of the country and zone the presidency to Southeast region, come 2023.

According to HURIWA, Ndigbo, being one of the tripods that make up Nigeria has never, since independence been elected into office as President. It said that Nigeria will have a lot of disloyal citizens to contend with; not just the Indigenous People of Biafra, if the political parties deny Ndigbo the 2033 golden opportunity.

National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, stated this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said the current political and security situation in the country required that power should shift to the South.

He said: “If they want the country to have stability, unity and to last longer than next year. The moments the leadership is given back to the North, so many decent minded southern will lose their mind.

“They will be disloyal to the country because the country is a country of injustice. And nobody in his right conscience will want a country that does not believe that he is a human being. It is only a fool, or somebody who does not have complete mental faculties, that will trust and still be loyal to someone who doesn't believe that you are human enough to become a president.

“So, if the worst comes towards it, let it be South, but definitely not Goodluck because he is a tool for the North, they want to use him to reduce the number of years the South will stay in power.”

HURIWA warned that if Goodluck accepts to be the Presidential candidate of APC and eventually becomes the president, it means he has short changed Ndigbo.

“If he does that, the South South and South East will never have peace or trust each other for life. Because what happened to Ndigbo after war in the 70s, when we lost so many housing assets hasn’t been forgotten,” HURIWA said.

The group also warned the Igbos against supporting any presidential aspirant outside the region.

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