A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Senator Alex Kadiri, has members of the party from the North Central region to concentrate on securing the national chairmanship of the APC instead of dissipating energy in seeking for the presidency in 2023.
Kadiri, who represented Kogi East between 1999 and 2003 in the Senate, said this in an interview with journalists in Abuja, on Sunday.
He said: “I am a recognised leader in the North Central.They invite me to all their meetings. There is nobody of substance who has the capacity to be President from North Central in 2023. Please, prove me wrong and bring that person. At my age, I am not looking for anything from anybody. I am not looking for work. I can only speak my mind now.”
Kadiri equally made a case for a President of Southern extraction to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
“Olusegun Obasanjo was President of Nigeria for eight years. Now, Yemi Osinbajo is Vice President and in 2023, he would have spent eight years. I think for the sake of fairness, it is only right and proper for the people of the South West to shelve the idea of producing the President.
“North West should also forget it. The South Easterners are my in-laws and there are more Igbos coming to this house than any other tribe in Nigeria because of my wife.
“So, I cannot have ill feelings towards an Igbo man. The fact of the matter is that Igbos with their republican attitude to everything can’t be President of Nigeria this present time (2023).
“Whether you like it or not, Rotimi Amaechi still stands as a viable person. He has the experience, and good health. Anybody we are considering today as President must be healthy. We can’t move from Yar’ Adua (Umaru) to Buhari (Muhammadu) and then to Tinubu (Bola). If Amaechi and Zulum can put their acts together, this country can move forward,” he added.
