National Leader of Arewa Consultative Youth Forum (ACYF,) Alhaji Yerima Shettima, has said while politics is a game of numbers, he does not believe that the North has a population advantage over the South when it comes to elections.
He said as long as the electoral process is credible, and candidates are able to build a strong followership, there is no reason why they cannot win elections.
Yerima who made the statement during an interview with Daily Sun, also refuted claims that the North intends to hold on to power by suddenly advocating for competence over zoning, when choosing candidates. He said he has no problem voting for Igbo as president if the person is competent.
He said free choice "is the beauty of democracy, democracy is about number, the majority will have their way, and the minority will have their say. it has always been like that.
"For God’s sake I don’t know if we are much in number than the entire South, but however, let us go to the trenches, let us cast our votes and let our votes decide, let the votes count, that is the most important thing.
"Let the South produce their best 11 and let the North produce theirs too, let Nigerians decide. It is just as simple as ABCD, but it is we that are compounding it. Let me tell you if you mobilise Nigerians properly competence will count and Nigerians are becoming wiser today politically.
"For me, if I found out that the person coming from the Southeast, for instance, is the most qualified that can deliver, believe me, I will vote for that person, I will be the vanguard of that struggle, I will be at the top of it, clamouring for president of Igbo extraction, I will lead the struggle to ensure that the person is accepted by the majority and elected if the need arises.
"We owe no personal grudges against anybody or any tribe in this country; it is that some people seem to be misinterpreting issues. I will vote for an Igbo president if I find out he is a better candidate, competent enough to take this country to the next level."
On Buhari's performance in office, he said, "The government has not done enough good for the country and expectations have been dashed because what we as Nigerians expected is not what we are getting.
"Look at what the government promised Nigerians that they will do, the issue of tackling corruption, their claim of having zero tolerance to corruption, and what we have today. Their promise to fix the economy and the issue of insecurity, can we in all sincerity say we are faring well?
"Now, look at those critical three points that are the major focus of government and you find that they are nothing to write home about. Even in the world index where you consider or rate countries you see that the report is really bad in terms of security, in terms of the economy, it is really bad and the way they are fighting corruption is really not good at all.
"You ask yourself: have we had any genuine change since the inception of this government? The facts on the ground do not seem to reflect that government is doing what they promised Nigerians and what they claim that they are doing."