2023;Northern Governors Counter their Southern Counterparts.

The governors of the19 Northern states have criticized their 17 Southern counterparts’ insistence on a Southern President succeeding the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari, when his eight-year term ends in May 2023.

See also PDP Urges Buhari to Ensure that FFK’s Corruption case is not ‘swept Under the Carpet’.

At an emergency meeting on Monday in Kaduna State, the Northern States Governors’ Forum declared that the candidate with the most votes would be elected President of Nigeria in the 2023 elections.

The northern governors issued a statement at the end of the meeting that was signed by the Forum’s chairman, Simon Lalong, who is also the Governor of Plateau State.

See also Southern Nigeria Governors To Meet in Enugu Thursday.

Chairmen of the Northern States Traditional Council, chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Abubakar III, also attended the conference.

Recall that the Southern Governors, led by Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, met twice this year in Lagos and Enugu and requested that power be transferred to the South following Buhari’s government, which is from Katsina State in North-West Nigeria, in 2023.

However, at the conclusion of their meeting today, the Northern governors stated that the Southern governors’ request was not constitutional.

See also Southern Governors’ Forum Meets; Demands that Next President Emerges From The South, Makes other Demands.

Parts of the statement read; “The Forum observed that some Northern States Governors had earlier expressed views for a power-shift to three Geo-Political Zone in the South with a view to promoting unity and peace in the Nation.

“Notwithstanding their comments, the Forum unanimously condemn the statement by the Southern Governors Forum that the Presidency must go to the South.

“The statement is quite contradictory with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended that the elected President shall:- score the majority votes; score at least 25% of the votes cast in 2/3 States of the Federation.“In the case of run-up simple majority win the election.”