A respected elder statesman and political analyst, Dr. Segun Pearse, has issued a stern warning on Nigeria’s political future, insisting that the Southeast region may never produce a president unless the principle of rotational presidency is upheld.
According to Arise News, speaking during a recent interview on Arise News Television, Pearse emphasized that Nigeria’s unity and equitable development depend largely on fairness and political inclusivity, particularly in power-sharing arrangements between the North and South and among all geopolitical zones.
Pearse declared, If we do not rotate the presidency, nobody from the Southeast will ever become president. The odds are against them, not because they are not qualified, but because of the structural imbalance in our political setup.”
He noted that the failure to rotate political leadership risks deepening divisions, fuelling discontent, and weakening the foundation of national unity. Pearse argued that zoning the presidency is not just a matter of political convenience but a necessary strategy to ensure justice and reduce ethnic tensions.
His comments come amid renewed debates over the 2027 presidential election and widespread concerns that the Southeast remains the only region in the South yet to produce a president in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.
Pearse urged political parties, especially the dominant ones, to respect power rotation principles as part of their internal democracy and to foster a sense of belonging among all ethnic nationalities. He added that history would not be kind to any political structure that continually sidelines an entire region of the country from the highest office.
