*Says: ‘It’s gratuitous insult’
Steve Uzoechi, Owerri
Elder statesman, Professor Francis Dike (SAN) has said it is an insult and smacks of arrogance for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to say he will give the Igbo nation president after his tenure.
Dike, who spoke following the flag-off of the presidential campaign of the PDP in Enugu on Tuesday, said PDP has an existing rotation clause in its constitution and the entire South has the slot for the next president.
According to Dike, Atiku ignored this and took the ticket in spite of the fact that many eminently qualified Southerners vied for the position in PDP.
He said: “Atiku’s credentials are nothing to write home for him to insinuate that no Southerner amongst them is suitable to be President until 2027. Maybe he’ll groom them to be Presidential materials by then.
“My mind boggles if this is the thinking behind his promise to serve one term. That definitely smacks of arrogance and is a gratuitous slight to Nigerians and particularly the South to imply that such usurpation of the Southern right can be predicted on.”
He said Atiku owes the South an explanation as to why he feels the South must wait on him for four years.