Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has called for Nigeria to produce what he described as “a pure blood Igbo President,” saying it would help address lingering historical grievances in the country.
Bashir made the remark on his verified X handle on Wednesday, arguing that unresolved “wounds of the past” would persist unless an Igbo candidate occupies the nation’s highest political office.
“It’s high time Nigeria had a pure blood Igbo President. Until then, all these wounds of the past will persist to remain,” he wrote.
His comment comes amid long-standing debates on zoning, power rotation, and ethnic representation in Nigeria’s presidency.
Ahead of the 2023 general election, there were renewed calls, particularly from the South-East, for an Igbo candidate to emerge president.
Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, who was the vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 election alongside Atiku Abubakar, later left the party in 2023.
Obi subsequently joined the Labour Party and contested the 2023 presidential election, where he came third behind Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, who won the poll.
The debate over zoning and equitable representation has remained a recurring issue in Nigeria’s political discourse, especially in the build-up to major elections.
