Jonathan’s supporters, who are members of the Citizens Network for Peace and Development in Nigeria, CNPDN, have launched campaigns in Port Harcourt, Rivers State’s capital, claiming that the country’s next president must come from the south.
Earlier in November, supporters endorsed Bola Tinubu and began grassroots mobilization in the country’s South East and South South geopolitical zones for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC’s presidential candidate.
The CNPDN’s mobilization for Tinubu coincided with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s stated support for a southern president to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. At the time, the group attempted to persuade Jonathan to run for president.
Mr Francis Okereke Wainwei, the coalition’s national secretary and a Bayelsa State native, told reporters that the coalition had unanimously resolved to support and vote for Tinubu in the upcoming presidential election in 2023.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Wainwei stated that the group’s position was consistent with that of the APC’s Northern Governors’ Forum and the Southern Governors’ Forum, both of which had declared for a Southern President in 2023, noting that the emergence of a Southern President would unite the nation and ensure fairness and equity.
“In the same vein, our position that the next president of this country should come from the south is driven by same vision and principles,” he added, saying there would be a better sense of belonging for the southern people.
The group slammed some governors from the Southern part of Nigeria for allegedly betraying the interest of the zone, revealing that it was only Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike that insists on the southern presidency in 2023.
“We are, therefore, calling on the South South governors who have betrayed their people by supporting another northern candidate to take over from Buhari after eight years of a president from the North, to resign immediately.
“This is because the people of the South South zone can no longer trust them with their common heritage as they have placed their personal interests above the collective interest of their people. Our call on them to resign is also premised on the fact that they recently received huge sums of money via the 13% derivation fund and squandered same in pursuit of their personal interests at the expense of their people,” Wanwein articulated.
While calling on the state houses of assembly to impeach governors that are against the interest of the zone if they failed to resign from office, the group vowed to mobilise people from the affected states to force the said governors to either resign or get impeached.
