Nigeria will plunge into disunity if we stop zoning- Bode George

Speaking in an interview with SunNewspaper, Chief Bode said that zoning remains critical to holding the fabric of the Nigerian society together, hence it should not be abandoned as Nigeria heads towards another presidential election in 2023.

“Generally speaking, if we are to follow the principle of rotation, the presidency should revert back to the south in 2023. Ideally, it will be good for us to keep rotation. It is what has been binding Nigeria together, and it is not unique only to us as a nation.

“We should be careful how we treat the issue, otherwise, it is a subject that if not well handled can jeopardize the nation’s unity” he said.

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The former PDP deputy chairman also said that zoning and competence must go in pari-passu “Zoning and rotation must go hand in gloves. It is not only in Nigeria that it is being done” he added

“Switzerland is made up of French, the Italians, and the Germans. The French have their own capital in Geneva, the Italians in Lugano, and the Germans in Zurich. The three rotate power among themselves.

“Zoning is a novel idea in Nigeria and if anybody is talking about competence, there is no problem about that. There is no part of the country whether it is in the north or in the south where you don’t have competent people who can run the country. But what we are talking about is an arrangement that will sustain the nation’s unity.

“It is only when we have restructured and carry out devolution of power that we can now talk about dumping zoning but without restructuring first, any attempt to dump zoning will backfire.

“It will have a negative impact on the nation’s democracy. Zoning is the pillar that holds the nation together, and any attempt to dump it may threaten the nation’s democracy.”