2023 Presidency: If Atiku’s Presidency Will Spell Doom For Southerners — Sagay

Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presi­dential Advisory Commit­tee Against Corruption (PACAC), on Monday said Atiku Abubakar, presi­dential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has exposed himself as someone who habours disdain for Southerners, noting that if Atiku wins Southerners will be in se­vere trouble.

Atiku, at a parley organ­ised by Arewa Joint Com­mittee, urged Northerners not to vote for Yoruba and Igbo presidential candi­dates in the 2023 presiden­tial election.

He said the North does not need an Igbo or Yoru­ba president, but “someone from the North.

“I have traversed the whole of the country… This is what the Northern­er needs. He (Northern­er) doesn’t need a Yoruba candidate, or an Igbo. This is what the Northerner needs. I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of North­ern origin”, the former vice president had said.

However, speaking with Daily Independent, Sagay said just like it is happen­ing in the PDP, Southerners will be treated as second class citizens if Atiku be­comes president.

He said, “Atiku has final­ly exposed himself. He has displayed the true content of his mind. He has demon­strated the level of con­tempt, hatred and disdain he has for Southerners.

“His statement buttress­es Wike’s insistence that the Southerners should be better represented in the hi­erarchy of the PDP because from what you can see now, Atiku has contempt for the South. He doesn’t want them in any position of responsibility or authority.

“So, the whole thing must have been deliberate, it wasn’t an accident when they made sure that only Northerners hold the most important positions in PDP.

“What it portends for the country is that if Ati­ku wins, the South will be in severe trouble. It will be a severe affliction on the South if he wins because we should be ready to ac­cept subordinate positions and positions of servants in the federation; subservi­ent to our leaders who must come from the North”.