By TINA TIMOTHY

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has called on other geopolitical zones in the country to allow South East and the North East zones to produce the next President and Vice President of Nigeria in the next general elections.

The group made the call in their recommendations and guidelines for filling top federal seats of power through the 2023 general elections, which it claimed “will yield negative peace, leading to positive peace.”

The Intersociety recommendations and guidelines was contained in a statement the group issued in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, on Thursday,24th February, 2022, and signed by the Board chair, Emeka Umeagbalasi; Head, Democracy and Good Governance, Chinwe Umeche Esquire and Head, Campaign and Publicity, Chidimma Eva Udegbunam Esquire.

The statement reads: “The Int’l Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law is respectfully appealing to political actors in the North-Central, the Southwest, the South-South and the Northwest Regions in Nigeria to morally and dutifully join hands with the Southeast and the Northeast Regions to credibly, popularly, fairly and peacefully produce the country’s next President and Vice President.

“While the Southeast shall be assisted to produce the country’s next credible and popular President, who must be a Christian/non Muslim; the Northeast shall be urged and supported to produce the country’s next Vice President and Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic Council. He or she must be a Muslim.

“The above cardinal recommendation is to ensure ethno-religious fairness and oust the present practice of “All Muslims Affair” in the country’s polity of Federal segment. Apart from offices of the country’s next President and Vice President, other top federal elective and appointive offices shall also be comprehensively balanced along the country’s multi ethnic, cultural and religious lines or compositions.

“Granted that the position of ours above is conventionally, morally, culturally, pluralistically and constitutionally grounded or customized in several constitutional provisions such as Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, it must also be pointed out that there are still need for more legislative enactments or amendments to be timely carried out to solidify the arrangements under recommendation.

“Apart from the required legal paper works by the National Assembly of Nigeria, there shall also be required purges, promotions and postings in the security forces and their High Commands as well as the judicial arm preferentially for geopolitical regions suffering age-long exclusion and segregation. Important too is need to ensure fairness in the allocation of key ministries and ministers and key agencies such as office of the National Security Adviser.

“At the State and Senatorial levels under Section 14 (4) of the 1999 Constitution, such recommended arrangements shall also be reflected. For instance, in religiously troubled areas such as Kaduna, Taraba, Adamawa, Niger, Borno, Kebbi, Gombe, Kogi, Nasarawa and Yobe States, governorship and legislative speakership and appointment of commissioners and top judicial officers shall be reflected along their Senatorial and religious compositions.

“There shall be abolition of “All Muslims Affair” and reversion to Muslim-Christian or Christian-Muslim Governorship and Deputy Governorship tickets and emergence especially in the above mentioned States or areas.

“Our recommendations will temporarily bring about ‘negative peace’ or temporary reprieve to the country’s landscape troubles and open a path to positive peace. While ‘negative peace’ brings about absence of substantial physical violence and substantial cessation of hostilities, ‘positive peace’ brings about absence of substantial physical and structural violence.

“That is to say that the recommendations being put forward by Intersociety will launch the country into a meaningful ‘National Discourse or Talk’ especially in the areas of the raging nonviolent and violent resource, autonomy and religious agitations presently shaking the existential foundations of the country and its citizens.”

The group also appealed to international development partners to adopt the recommendations and factor them into their policies Nigeria.

“Intersociety hereby respectfully calls on the country’s international development partners and development and humanitarian funds providers including those part-funding Nigeria’s electoral and political process to adopt the recommendations of ours and factor them into their policies on Nigeria, especially with regard to the 2023 Elections and Federal Seats of Power Transition,” the statement added.