Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has reiterated his support for the South East to produce the next President of Nigeria in 2023.

The ex-minister, who reiterated his position in an interview published by Vanguard on Monday, said that the country can choose the best President from the South East because the zone have not produced any President yet.

Amaechi said: “I had made my views clear when I spoke before the election. I encouraged the Igbo in a lecture I delivered in Awka where I said Nigeria’s politics is not about merit. I think we can choose the best president from the Igbo this time because they have not been elected as the president of Nigeria.

“That is the only part among the three majority tribes that have not produced the president and I feel it is their turn. After the election, I made another comment that if they had voted for President Buhari, it would have been easy for you as a people to make a demand on the presidency. These were the two comments I made and since then I have gone to sleep.”

On whether voting for President Muhammadu Buhari be a determinant for power to shift to the South East, Amaechi said: “It may not be the determinant but it has a great role to play. Because it is a lot easier to convince the ruling party that you brought in your votes and therefore you should be considered to produce the Presidential candidate for the office.

“In the same way, is it the best for Nigeria to produce the President on a zonal basis? I don’t think so but since we have not grown to look for the best material that we have in any part of the country, it would have been right to say let the Igbo have a shot at the Presidency and that does not mean they don’t have a good hand. You would certainly see a very good material in that area for the Presidency.”