Below is an excerpt from an international joint media conference held in Enugu on 19/2/2023 by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) and its partners on the February 25, 2023 presidential election.

Democratic Presidency Of South East Extraction Denied Since 1957-60

The recent research work by Intersociety had empirically indicated that in the Nigeria’s democratic dispensations since its colonial transition in 1957 and independence in 1960, the South East had never produced the country’s executive president under presidential system of government or executive prime minister under parliamentary system of government and this had been the case since the country’s independence on 1st Oct 1960; a period of over 62 years. Intersociety’s statistics further showed that Nigeria was centrally and executively governed by Late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belewa as Prime Minister in parliamentary system of governance, representing the present Bauchi State in North East Region.

Late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belewa was in office from 1957-1966 while Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe served as ceremonial/non executive President in 1963-1966 and ‘Governor-General’ in 1960-1963.

Intersociety’s findings also showed that in the Presidential Democracy of 1979-1983 and 1999-2023, there had been elected Nigeria’s executive president of South-East extraction.

Excluded and not counted in the Intersociety’s empirical findings was military era of 1966-1979 and 1983-1999. This was on account of the fact that military involvement in public governance is an aberration and repugnant to democracy and democratic process anywhere in the world including Nigeria.

Intersociety’s findings also revealed that the Region with the highest number of years in democratic presidential seat of power in Nigeria is the North-West Region which occupied the country’s elective/executive presidency from 1979-1983, 2007-2010 and 2015-2023; a total of fifteen years.

North West Region is followed by the North East Region where Late Sir AbubakarTafawa Belewa came from (Bauchi State) which held the country’s executive prime ministerial seat from the transitional period of 1957-1960 and 1960-1966, a period of nine years.

The third Region in Nigeria with longest occupation of the country’s presidential seat of power is the South West Region which held democratic presidency of Nigeria from 1999-2007; a total of eight years; followed by the South-South Region from 2010-2015; a total of five years.

In the whole, therefore, out of the country’s six geopolitical regions, only South East and North-Central Regions have never taken a shot at Nigeria’s civilian presidency or its equivalent in parliamentary system since 1957-60. As for the North-Central Region having not occupied the country’s executive democratic presidency or premier since 1957-60, the Region, by presidential executive power convention, was in charge of the country’s military presidency from 1985-1993 and 1998-1999.

This solely marks out the South East Region as the most cheated and only geopolitical region that had never produced Nigeria’s civilian/democratic presidency since 1957-60; a period of over 65 years; thereby marking the Region out as the best qualified to produce the next democratic president of Nigeria in 2023.

Therefore, as far as the 2023 Nigeria’s presidency is concerned, those laying claims to it other than the four presidential candidates from the South East are not only interlopers but also exponents of “born-to-rule” and “born-to-be-ruled”.

South East Presidency Not Winners Take All: 19 Top Seats Must Be Shared By Six Regions

The 19 key Federation’s seats of power under reference are offices of the President, Vice President, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of House of Reps, Deputy Speaker of House of Reps, Chief Justice of Nigeria, President of the Court of Appeal, Attorney General of the Federation, Solicitor General of the Federation, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Inspector General of Police, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Defense Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Director General of SSS (DSS) and Director General of the National Intelligence Agency.

The distribution of key federal appointive and elective offices using the country’s six geopolitical zoning must also include others numbering more than 1,083 contained in the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, Etc.) (Amendment) Act of 2008.

How To Share 19 Top Federal Public Offices Among The Six Geopolitical Regions In 2023

To ensure geopolitical, ethnic and religious balancing in 2023, the following nineteen top elective and appointive federal offices must be shared among the country’s six geopolitical zones or regions in the following way: South-East Region-President of Nigeria (Christian/non Muslim), North-West-Vice President (Muslim), North-East-Senate President (Muslim), North-Central-Speaker House of Reps (Christian/non Muslim), South-West-Deputy Senate President (Muslim or Christian) and South-South-Deputy Speaker, House of Reps (Christian/non Muslim). From the angle of Security/Service Chiefs: North-East-Chief of Defense Staff (Muslim), North-Central-Chief of Army Staff (Christian/non Muslim), South-East-Inspector General of Police (Christian/non Muslim), South-West-Director General of State Security Services (Muslim), South-South-Chief of Naval Chief (Christian/non Muslim), North-West-Chief of Air Staff (Muslim) and South-East-Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (Christian/non Muslim).

From the angle of top judicial officers: South-East-Chief Justice of Nigeria (Christian/non Muslim), North-East-Attorney General of the Federation (Christian/non Muslim), North-Central-President of the Court of Appeal (Muslim), South-West-Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (Muslim), South-South-Solicitor General of the Federation (Christian/non Muslim) and North-West-Chief Judge of the FCT High Court (Muslim).

Federal Panel Of Enquiry For Constitutionalizing Regional Distribution Of Federal Offices

For purposes of permanent prohibition and abolition of ‘winners take all’ and “born-to-rule” and “born-to-be-ruled” characterization of Nigeria’s key federal office appointments involving ethno-religious domination and control of the military, the policing, the defense, the paramilitary, the spy policing and the justice establishments and their headships by one ethno-religious grouping; there shall be an establishment of ‘a Special Panel of Enquiry Into Federal Office Appointments’ by the next Government of Nigeria to thoroughly look into and dispassionately review all the appointments made by the outgoing Federal Government into the country’s more than 1,083 top federal public offices captured in the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, Etc.) (Amendment) Act of 2008 and over 2,600 top police ranks and 2000 commissioned officers in the military (army, navy and air force) and their equivalents in the service agencies and paramilitaries.

This is to ensure geopolitical and ethno-religious balancing and promotion of national cohesion, peaceful coexistence and national integration; totality of which is in accordance with Sections 153, 15 (5), 14 (3), 10, 42, 217 (3), 219 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, in addition to adhering to the provisions of the Federal Character Act of 2004.

The ‘Special Panel of Enquiry on Federal Office Appointments’ will also give life to pluralistic composition of Nigeria and its multi ethnic and religious setting by forensically reviewing all the appointments made into federal bodies listed under Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution so as to ensure that they were made in tandem with the spirit and letters of Sections 15 (5) (impeccability of character), 10 (adoption of no state religion), 14 (3) (balanced allocation of federal office appointments), 217 (3)(balanced composition of the officer corps and other ranks of the armed forces of the Federation, 219 (explained in details by the Federal Character Act of the Federation 2004) and 42 (freedom from discrimination or disabilities); and the Federal Character Act of 2004.

The membership of the ‘Special Federal Panel of Enquiry on Appointments’ shall be made up of 50 members including one person from each of the country’s 36 States and the FCT and representatives of major interest groups. The Panel shall have power of independence and non executive interference and shall identify all the appointments made in gross breach of the country’s Constitution and the country’s pluralistic ethnic and religious compositions. All key federal appointments found to have been made in contrary to the above referenced constitutional provisions and the country’s multi ethnic and religious grouping shall be reversed and have their appointees thrown out or terminated.

Signed

For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety)

Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chair, Intersociety; Chinwe Umeche Esquire, Head, Democracy and Good Governance; and Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire, Head, Campaign and Publicity.