Yerima said to prove his commitment to the promise, he will pick someone from the zone as his vice presidential candidate, if Igbos assure him of their unwavering support.
He made the promise at an award ceremony for graduating students of the Freedom University Theological Seminary in Owerri, Imo State capital, accompanied by his state campaign coordinator, Vitalis Ajumbe.
“This is an Igbo project. “If you support me, I will make history by raising the hand of an Igbo man as President of Nigeria, I will end marginalisation in the zone”, he said.
The former governor, who noted that Igbos are being marginalized in the country, called on the federal government to give the people of South-east a sense of belonging, saying it will reduce tension among Igbo pressure groups.
“Igbos must not be marginalised in Nigeria. The problem of Igbo in Nigeria is that they are being marginalised. If they are not marginalised, you will not be hearing of Biafra or any other groups”, he stated.
Yerima had in a recent interview with Daily Trust, maintained that he is not only qualified to rule Nigeria, but also capable of leading the country if elected president in 2023.
When asked why he is aiming for the highest office in the country in 2023, despite knowing that the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari, is from the North-west, the same geo-political zone he is from, he replied:
“I don’t believe in regionalism, saying that this man is from this side or that. Let’s have the best people who have much more better things to offer to Nigerians.
“Everybody should come up with what they want to do for Nigerians and how they want to move Nigeria forward. The contributions you want to make and such a person should be assessed by Nigerians whether he or she should be elected or not.
“It is not from where you come from and not your religion. As far as I am concerned, you should look at individuals as Nigerians otherwise we should ask for rotation of presidency in the constitution.
“If we are looking at regions, North-West has done, let’s go to South-South; which means anybody whether he is good or not but once determined by that zone should be elected.
“If it is not determined by constitutional arrangement, every Nigerian should aspire to be in elective position of government.”
On insinuations that Buhari signed a pact with Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to hand over to him in 2023, the former Zamfara governor said both of them are free to make deals, and even sign it with pen made of gold.
He said it does not mean they own the country.
