PDP, not APC, blocked South-East presidency — Anyim 

By Tolulope Oke

Former Senate President, Pius Anyim, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) should not be blamed for the failure of the South-East to produce Nigeria’s president since the return to democracy in 1999.

Anyim said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should instead take responsibility for failing to zone its presidential ticket to the South-East during previous election cycles.

The former Senate President made the statement during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Monday while discussing the region’s quest for the presidency.

According to Anyim, the South-East could only achieve its presidential ambition through political alliances with other regions rather than relying solely on support from within the zone.

He said the PDP’s decision not to zone its presidential ticket to the South-East affected the region’s chances.

“If PDP had been honorable enough to zone to the South-East, it would have stimulated the necessary sentiments that will help us defeat any other candidate,” Anyim said.

He added that the South-East could not produce a president without building partnerships with other parts of the country.

“The experience I personally gathered is that no person from the South-East would make it in isolation. We must have an alliance with other regions in order to make it,” he said.

Anyim, who spent decades in the PDP before joining the APC, said his decision to move to the ruling party followed a year-long consideration of what would serve the long-term interests of the region.

“It took me about a year to join the APC. But then you will ask me why APC? I weighed the fact that when we worked together, I mean the aspirants, our primary interest was our zone,” he said.

On the current political arrangement, Anyim said President Bola Tinubu, who is from the South-West, is entitled to seek a second term.

He argued that the presidency should continue to follow a rotational arrangement among Nigeria’s regions.

“Certainly the president had taken it for the southwest, and he’s entitled to a second term. So, after his second term, I believe in rotation,” Anyim said.

He added that after the South-West’s turn, political actors from the South-East would need to continue building alliances with other regions to strengthen their chances.

“But you need to support others so that they can support you,” he said.