Former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Sam Amadi, has ignited fresh political debate after suggesting that Nigeria’s South-East region may never produce a president.
Writing on X on Friday, Amadi argued that the region has no realistic pathway to the presidency in 2027, 2031, or even 2035, urging a shift in priorities toward economic growth and broader influence.
“May be South-East has no chance at all, whether in 2027, 2031 or 2035, just as Jews never have in the US. We can focus on building South-East and prospering across Nigeria and the world,” he wrote.
Amadi also questioned the value of Nigeria’s highest office, describing the presidency as an avenue for personal enrichment. “By the way, what has been the worth of Nigerian presidency? Just another opportunity for some people to steal vanishing wealth as they are doing now,” he added.
His remarks came in response to a post by Demola Olarewaju, who argued that the South-East has lacked a clear path to power since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.
Olarewaju contrasted the region’s position with that of the South-West, which he said has produced presidents through both nationalist and regional political strategies, and the South-South, which he described as having gained power by “chance or fate.”
“You can be a nationalist like Obasanjo and win; you can still be an ethnocentrist like Tinubu and win. South-South got a chance by mistake/fate, South-East has never,” he wrote.
Amadi’s comments have since stirred discussions on zoning, political equity, and the future of power rotation in Nigeria as the country gradually looks ahead to the next election cycle.
