Anyim: South-East Presidency Requires Alliances Beyond the Region

Former Senate President Pius Anyim Pius has said the APC is not responsible for the PDP’s failure to zone its presidential ticket to the South-East during previous election cycles.

Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Monday, Anyim said his political experience had led him to conclude that the South-East’s presidential ambition could not be achieved through support from the region alone.

He was discussing the zoning of Nigeria’s presidency and the South-East’s efforts to secure the presidency since the country returned to democratic rule in 1999.

According to Anyim, the PDP’s failure to zone its presidential ticket to the South-East was a matter the party itself should answer for.

“If PDP had been honorable enough to zone to the South-East, it would have stimulated the necessary sentiments that will help us defeat any other candidate,” he said.

He added: “And in the eyes and minds of the north, the rotation applied because it’s still in the south and so there is nothing to blame anybody about.”

Anyim argued that the South-East needs broader political partnerships to improve its prospects of producing a president.

“The experience I personally gathered is that no person from the South-East would make it in isolation. We must have an alliance with other regions in order to make it,” he said.

He said this experience influenced his decision to leave the PDP and join the APC after spending about a year considering his options.

“It took me about a year to join the APC. But then you will ask me why APC? I weighed the fact that when we worked together, I mean the aspirants, our primary interest was our zone,” Anyim said.

According to him, he eventually concluded that the APC could better serve the South-East’s long-term political interest.

Anyim also said that regional political cooperation would require supporting other parts of the country in order to receive reciprocal support.

“There is no amount of effort from each and every one of us that will make it possible for us to become president, if we do not have an alliance with other regions,” he said.

“But you need to support others so that they can support you,” he added.

On the current presidency, Anyim said President Bola Tinubu, who is from the South-West, is entitled to seek a second term. He said he believes the presidency should continue to rotate among the regions.

“Certainly the president had taken it for the southwest, and he’s entitled to a second term. So, after his second term, I believe in rotation. Of course, it will go to the north. Then after the north, it will come down,” he said.

Anyim maintained that the South-East’s political strategy should involve continued engagement and alliances with other regions rather than pursuing the presidency in isolation.

Africans Angle News