The power-sharing understanding between Northern and Southern Nigeria should remain a guiding principle in the country’s political system, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, has said, warning that abandoning it could threaten the sense of fairness needed to sustain national unity.
Akume made the position known on Wednesday in Abuja during an audience with the Supreme Knight of the Order of the Knights of St. Mulumba Nigeria, Sir Steve Adehi, and other members of the Catholic organisation.
The SGF’s remarks centred on the presidential succession arrangement, with particular reference to calls by politicians from the North to contest the office before the end of the South’s current eight-year spell. He insisted that the region should honour the existing understanding rather than seek an early change in the sequence.
The arrangement dates to political negotiations in Kaduna in 1999, when PDP governors-elect and other political leaders discussed how to distribute presidential power between the two regions after years of military rule. The resulting understanding provided for each region to hold the presidency for eight years before power shifted to the other.
Akume linked the agreement to efforts to prevent one region from dominating the highest political office and to build confidence in the country’s democratic process. He cited the eight years served by former President Muhammadu Buhari as part of the sequence underpinning the current arrangement.
The SGF also acknowledged the humanitarian work of the Knights of St. Mulumba, particularly their support for disadvantaged Nigerians. He called for stronger cooperation among federal, state and local governments, saying development efforts must respond to present economic hardships while laying the foundation for sustained national progress.
The meeting was reported in a statement issued by Chris Ugwuegbulam, Head of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, according to Channels Television.
