Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, has reiterated the need for the southern part of the country to produce the next president of Nigeria, saying it is the turn of the South to produce the next president after the expiration of eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure in 2023.

Ayade, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the idea of zoning came about to ensure an egalitarian and equitable power sharing in the country.

The governor said this when he received the APC National Leader and presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, at the Government House, Calabar, the Cross River State capital on Wednesday.

“Zoning is a provision of our constitution to ensure balancing. It should not be about ethnic or regional domination, but balancing. It’s the turn of Southern Nigeria in 2023,” Governor Ayade said.

The governor further said the country was in dire need of change and a new way of doing things, adding that with Nigeria’s potential “as around Number 7 in the world in terms of oil and gas deposit, it is regrettable that the country is still importing petrol to meet its local demand.”

Ayade, who described Tinubu as a trans-generational leader and political strategist, said the presidential aspirant has the capacity, experience and exposure to lead, adding that the former governor of Lagos State is qualified to be Nigeria’s president.

Ayade said history would be kind to Tinubu as the man who propelled the APC to power in 2015, adding that the APC chieftain was a cornerstone of the party’s success.

The governor stressed that he has a long-standing relationship with Tinubu, saying he always got the latter’s advice on issues when needed.

READ ALSO: Tinubu to Ayade: Endorse me for 2023 presidency

Speaking, Tinubu, who was on a courtesy visit to Ayade, appealed to the governor, to endorse him at the party’s presidential primaries which has been scheduled to hold in Abuja on June 6 to 8, 2022.

Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, told Governor Ayade that there was no collision in their desires to clinch the APC presidential ticket, saying: “Mine is to respect you as you respect me.

“I appeal to you as your senior brother and the first to declare his intention, not to endorse me today but when you get to Abuja, you can endorse me fully.

“We must have that unity of purpose. We must work together not only for the unity and economic development of Cross River, but also of the country. We owe that to the present and future generations,” the presidential hopeful said.

He further promised to work with the state for the full development of Calabar Port if elected president in 2023.

Tinubu was accompanied by Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Tanko Al-Makura; former governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima; ex-Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba; presidential aide, Mallam Yau Darazo, TETFund Chairman, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, among others.

The Star