El-Rufai had recently expressed he favours competence over zoning, making a case for the abandonment of rotational presidency.

But reacting on Friday, via a statement by its President-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the Ohanaeze Youth Council, said the governor was blinded by his ambition to become president.

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council cannot ignore the recent statement by Governor el-Rufai, who is blinded by his ambition to become president by championing the abolishment of zoning formula and the gentleman’s agreement that had existed between North and South since 1999.

“For posterity’s sake, we wish to remind Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, that Christian prayers from Southern Kaduna alone will never allow him succeed in his presidential project.

“Governor el-Rufai was a major beneficiary of the zoning arrangement in the 2015 governorship election in Kaduna and now he wants to thwart the glaring opportunity for a Nigerian President of Igbo stock to emerge in 2023.”