By Gabriel Atumeyi
365Daily – The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has said if the South-East produces the next president, it will help in addressing the feelings of marginalisation in the region.
According to him, the 1999 Constitution doesn’t support zoning, which would have boosted the chance of the region in the 2023 presidential election.
Ngige, who spoke during Channels Television’s Newsnight programme, stated that what suits the current situation is the 1995 Constitution by the late General Sani Abacha.
“The people in the area have perceived that they are marginalised, that they are unappreciated, whether it was done by propaganda and brainwashing or not, that is now immaterial.
“So I agree with that proposal, unfortunately, the Nigerian Constitution does not have that. This is where I quarrel with those who authored the 1999 Constitution.
“I still believe today, tomorrow, the Abacha Constitution of 1995 that espouses rotational presidency into the six zones in Nigeria, a single five-year tenure in order to heal all the wounds; the wounds of civil war, and the wound of June 12.
“Now, that constitution would have been the best constitution for Nigerians to use for the next 30 years by which the six zones would have tested the presidency,” the Minister stated.