By Dennis Agbo
A  presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. SKC  Ogbonnia says if zoning is the criterion  for the 2019 presidency, the ticket should either go the South-East or  North-Central.

Ogbonnia, who described the discussion  on  zonal presidency as the  “fiercest narrative”, flayed the North  for insisting on  retaining the presidency in – 2019  and wondered if any particular zone had shown any magic wand in solving national problems.

“By May 2019, the North might have occupied the seat of power for about 42 out of our 59 years of national independence. Of the three northern political zones, the North-West would have been in power for roughly 18 years; 11 democratic, and 7 years under military rule. The North-East already had about 6 years of democratic governance in the First Republic; while the North-Central accounted for solid 18 years, all military.

“Similarly, southern Nigeria has held power for about 17 years. The South-West zone was at the helm for 12 years; 8 years of democratic power, and 4 years of military and quasi military dictatorships. The South-South follows with 5 years, all democratic leadership; while the South-East accounted for 6 months through military authority.

“So if zoning must prevail at this critical time, common sense dictates that the law of equity would, equally, demand that the position of the president be allocated to the region or the zones thus far marginalized in the presidential equation. Thus, the presidential calculators ought to zoom their searchlight into the North-Central and the South-East, being the political zones that are yet to produce democratic presidents”.