Anyim Says South-East Needs Political Alliances to Achieve Presidenc

Former Senate President Pius Anyim Pius has said the South-East cannot achieve its presidential ambition through regional support alone, arguing that the region needs political alliances with other parts of Nigeria.

Anyim made the remarks during an appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Monday while discussing the South-East’s place in Nigeria’s rotational presidency debate. He also said the APC should not be blamed for the PDP’s failure to zone its presidential ticket to the South-East in previous election cycles.

According to Anyim, his political experience had convinced him that a presidential candidate from the South-East would require support beyond the region to win a national election.

“The experience I personally gathered is that no person from the South-East would make it in isolation. We must have an alliance with other regions in order to make it.”

He said the PDP could have improved the South-East’s chances by zoning its presidential ticket to the region, but maintained that securing the presidency ultimately requires broader political cooperation.

“There is no amount of effort from each and every one of us that will make it possible for us to become president, if we do not have an alliance with other regions.”

Anyim said the need for wider alliances was also part of the thinking behind his decision to leave the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC). He said he spent about a year considering his options before deciding which political platform could better serve what he described as the South-East’s long-term political interests.

The former Senate president said the region should be prepared to support politicians from other parts of the country when necessary in the expectation of reciprocal political support. “But you need to support others so that they can support you,” he said.

On the current political arrangement, Anyim said President Bola Tinubu, who is from the South-West, is entitled to seek a second term. He said that, under the rotational arrangement he supports, the presidency would move to the North after Tinubu’s second term and subsequently return to the South-East.

Anyim’s comments come as political parties and regional blocs continue to debate alliances, zoning and the distribution of political power ahead of the 2027 general elections. His position represents his own political assessment of how the South-East can pursue the presidency; Nigeria’s Constitution does not establish a formal regional rotation of the presidency.