By CLIFFORD NDUJIHE & HENRY UMORU

ABUJA –  AHEAD of next month’s Presidential election, the Mallam Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum, NPLF, and the South East political leaders under the aegis of the Igbo Political Forum rose from a meeting in Abuja, yesterday, with a resolve to support and vote for any presidential candidate who supports the principle and practice of zoning.

They further pledged that they would vote for a presidential candidate who if he wins would not seek re-election in 2015, at which time the position will be rotated to another zone.

In a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting held at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja and signed by Alhaji Magaji Dambatta Chairman, Communiqué Committee and Udenta O. Udenta, Secretary, Communiqué Committee, they said:

 ‘’We have therefore resolved to support any candidate who shares our commitment to these principles and who is committed to practising it.

‘’Such a candidate must, as a precondition, exhibit other qualities that are conducive to good governance — honesty, integrity, competence, sound policy direction and requisite experience. It is our conviction that the tension, violence, desperation for power, and the culture of impunity and intolerance that have thus far characterised the electioneering campaigns are directly related to the culture of dishonesty that has crept into our political life as well as consequences of the attempt by certain political elite to jettison enduring principles for national political consensus building and political inclusiveness. Those who come to equity, it is said, must come with clean hands.”

The groups while condemning the level of political violence in the country and the muzzling of political opponents, said: ‘’We condemn, unequivocally, the culture of impunity, high level of intolerance, palpable tension and escalating violence which has come to characterize the campaigns for the general elections of April 2011.”