Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the Igbo of South East deserved to produce the president of Nigeria.

He spoke at the anniversary lecture to celebrate Nigeria’s 50 years of independence at the Enugu Sports Club, Enugu.

The former vice president, who presented the lecture entitled: “A tale of two cities: The Enugu Sports Club and Nigeria,” called on the people of the South East to warm up to present the president of Nigeria in 2015 under the zoning arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he said was designed to ensure that every part of the country has equitable access to the presidency, regardless of their status as majority or minority ethnic groups.

He also said that apart from the issue of power sharing which threatens the existence of the country, the issue of youth development is also urgent and critical.

He said the absence of well-formulated programmes of youth development had created an army of uneducated and unemployed youths who pose serious challenge to the growth of the country.