Baba-Ahmed had on Sunday insisted that power would remain in the north after 2023.

Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has been lambasted over his controversial statement on the 2023 presidency. 

An aide to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Joe Igbokwe, fired shots at Baba-Ahmed. 

Recall that Baba-Ahmed had on Sunday insisted that power would remain in the north after 2023 and anyone who doesn’t want a northerner as president in 2023 can leave the country when it happens. 

Speaking at an event in Kaduna state, the NEF spokesperson stated that northerners would not be treated as second class citizens as they have the population to decide who becomes president. 

He had said: “We will lead Nigeria the way we have led Nigeria before; whether we are president or vice-president, we will lead Nigeria.

“We have the majority of the votes and the democracy says vote whom you want. Why should we accept a second class position when we know we can buy forms and contests for first class and we will win?

“Why does anybody need to threaten us and intimidate us? We will get that power, but be humble because power comes from God. We inherited leadership, being honest is not being stupid.”

In a post via his Facebook page on Monday, Igbokwe described Baba-Ahmed and others canvassing for another northerner to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 as “trouble makers”.

He added that the North should forget about producing the next President in 2023 and concede to the South. 

“Those who are telling us that the North can still produce the President of Nigeria in 2023 after ruling for 8 years are trouble makers. They cannot get it. They miss the point,” Igbokwe wrote.

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