Zoning Promotes Cohesion, Equity, Not Self-Defeating – Okechukwu

A Foundation member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has said that Nigeria’s zoning arrangement between the North and South is designed to promote national cohesion, inclusion, equity, peace and justice.

Okechukwu made the statement in Enugu while responding to questions from journalists on recent remarks describing zoning as “self-defeating”. He dismissed the comment, describing it as “a classic case of self-denial” that, according to him, does not reflect truth or realism.

He argued that both legal frameworks and long-standing political conventions guide public affairs, insisting that zoning has played a stabilising role in Nigeria’s political development. He asked rhetorically: “If there was no zoning arrangement, could His Excellency Abubakar Atiku have become Vice President?”

The APC chieftain further criticised arguments suggesting that a Southern opposition cannot unseat a sitting Southern president, describing such views as identity politics. He said such rhetoric was capable of heightening political tension, adding that zoning was introduced precisely to reduce such divisions.

Okechukwu also rejected claims that the South would have held presidential power for about 18 years in the Fourth Republic compared to about 10 years for the North, describing the argument as selective amnesia. He said it ignored historical realities in which Northern Nigeria held power for more than four decades since independence in 1960.

He maintained that equity must be assessed holistically and not through “fragmented or convenient arithmetic,” insisting that fairness and balance remain essential to Nigeria’s unity.