***Warns of danger for Nigeria if North retains power
Apparently piqued by the clandestine but subtle moves the the north to retain power at all costs after 8 years on the saddle, the Pan Delta Forum, (PANDEF), has vowed to mobilize the electorate against presidential candidates of Northern extraction ahead of the 2023 general elections.
They warned of possible trouble in Nigeria should the presidential power return to the north beyond the May 29, 2023 exit date for the present administration led by a Northerner, President Muhammadu Buhari.
The National Publicity Secretary of PANDEF, Ken Robinson, gave the indication during a consultation visit by the Forum to the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, (SDP), Prince Adewale Adebayo on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to him the forum will mobilize every well meaning Nigerian to voice their unjust treatment in the Nigerian state should the presidency be retained in the North come 2023.
He said the is a serious one, even though it is not a threat “We are serious.”
“We will mobilize our people in the creeks, in the farmlands, in the streets across Nigeria, and people who think that Nigerians should work together.
“I had said on a programme on national TV that if the two major political parties produces northern candidates, it will be a declaration of war against Southern Nigeria.
According to him, Nigerians have experienced a situation under the present administration that has been operating as if others don’t exist.
“We are saying it’s unfair, not proper, and it’s on record. We are taking our campaigns to the South South, we have friends in the Middle Belt and in northern Nigeria; Nigerians of goodwill and clear conscience in northern Nigeria, so that they know that we need to work together for this country to exist, prosper, and become greater than what we are.
“We will speak to all Nigerians why the next president should come from Southern Nigeria; anything otherwise, Nigeria will no longer be what it has been if 2023 presidency goes to the North, we are not saying this as a threat.
Robinson emphasized on depth of injustices meted to the Southern part of the country under the present regime, pointing out that “There are 17 major paramilitary intelligence agencies in the country. At the last count 14 of them are headed by persons from certain part of the country, three from Southern Nigeria.
“The NNPC limited as it is called has 11 key management and board members, the South south has no person, and eighty percent of our resources come from the region, the south east has two, the south west one.
“And in that kind of discriminatory administration for eight years; then somebody in that kind of scenario wants to retain power again in the North.”
He said, “We have agreed that after due consultations with the presidential candidates, we will adviser Nigerians on which presidential candidate to vote for.
“This conversations will continue with the South South and the Middle Belt.”
On the issue of Muslim Muslim ticket and whether the group will interface with presidential flag bearer of APC, Bola Tinubu, he said, “You can’t close the door against your own, PANDEF will engage all of them because we’re leaders and fathers.”
The presidential candidate of the SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo said, he plans to promote an indivisible Nigeria, a Nigeria that believes in power rotation.
“My major aim is to promote an indivisible Nigeria. The Niger Delta has been the source of stupendous wealth that has been used to sustain Nigeria.
“I see the Niger Delta as a valuable component of Nigeria. I just don’t see it as an area that produces oil but as humans who happens to be before oil.
“If the injustice in Nigeria is addressed nobody will talk of your geographical location.
“I share their believe on power rotation but from a just man to a just man and not an unjust man from the North to an unjust man from the South.”