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Nigeria Must Be Ready For Protests If Another Northerner Becomes President In 2023 – Niger Delta Group, PANDEF Warns

PANDEF
September 7, 2022

PANDEF said it had also met with the United Kingdom and Dutch governments and registered its warnings ahead of the 2023 general elections. 

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), one of the foremost socio-political groups in the South-South region has warned that Nigeria will no longer be what it has been if another northerner emerges president in 2023. 
PANDEF said it had also met with the United Kingdom and Dutch governments and registered its warnings ahead of the 2023 general elections. 
The National Publicity Secretary, PANDEF, Ken Robinson, made this known when the organisation paid the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, a consultative visit on Tuesday in Abuja.
The group who has been vocal against another northerner succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari after eight years of “sectional government”, vowed to mobilise Nigerians to reject the emergence of another northern president in 2023.
"When the campaign starts, we will mobilise ourselves, speak to good Nigerians in Northern Nigeria and in Southern Nigeria why the next president of Nigeria should come from the Southern part of Nigeria.
“Anything short of that, and we are not saying this as a threat, yes, we were in a meeting with people from the Dutch Embassy, three days ago I was in a meeting with the British High commissioner, and we told them this thing that Nigeria will no longer be what it has been if the next president goes North," the group warned.
Lamenting Buhari's sectional government, a northern, the group noted that some sections of the have been treated as if they were not part of the country or nonexistent.
PANDEF cited the headship of 17 military, para-military and Intelligence security agencies in the country, which it revealed 14 of them were manned by Northerners while only three were Southerners.
Spokesman of PANDEF said that as if sectional appointment of security chiefs were not enough, of 11 key management and board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission Limited, Buhari appointed 7 northerners while 4 are southern Nigeria.
The group however, noted that planned to organize people from Niger Delta creeks to clampdown on the alleged injustice against Southern Nigeria.
“The statement is not a threat. And we are serious. We will mobilise our people in the creeks, in the farm lands to the streets across Nigeria to work together.”

Robinson added that the consultation with Southern presidential candidates is to ensure that a credible leader emerges by 2023.
The presidential candidate of SDP, Adebayo, said the meeting was part of a conversation that would help to unite Nigeria. 

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