Kenneth Gbagi, a former Minister of State for Education, has called on Nigerians to support any presidential candidate from the southern part of the country in the 2023 general elections.

Mr Gbagi, also the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in Delta, made the call on Sunday at a media briefing in his hometown in Oginibo Community.

“I will support any presidential candidate from the South. I do not know how to pretend.

“I urged Nigerians to support the shift of government from the North to South based on the principle of equity.

“We believe in one Nigeria, and I do not hate the north. Anything that will scuttle the shift of governance to the South for eight years and back to the north for eight years is unacceptable,” he said.

The governorship candidate said that this was his first time appearing on the ballot papers to seek an elective position, assuring he would win the 2023 election.

Mr Gbagi, a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta, said that his decision to leave the party was not to divide votes as being insinuated in some quarters.

“I am a competent man, and that is why I wanted to prove my competency at the ballot.

“Among the gladiators wanting to be governor in Delta, I am their senior brother in the profession of politics.

“I am the only one who has served Nigeria at the cabinet level of the Federal Government,” he said.

On the structure of SDP in Delta, Mr Gbagi said that the 2023 general elections would not be based on structures, adding that the electorate would vote for leaders that would guarantee their children’s future.

Mr Gbagi assured the people that when voted governor, he would revive the ailing industries in the state to generate employment and increase the state’s revenue base.

(NAN)