David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdulahi Ganduje, yesterday, said the alleged marginalisation of the south-east was as a result of miscalculations by the people of the region.
According to him, it was miscalculations that has kept Anambra State in political dislocation, saying it would continue to be so until the state dumps the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the ruling political party at the federal level.
He stated this in Nnewi, during a colloquium of the APC, with the theme: ‘De-marginalisation of south-east and integration into national politics.”
The colloquium which was for the south-east was organised by the senator representing Anambra South senatorial zone, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.
Ganduje said: “We are here for the south-east colloquium, but I prefer to speak about Anambra where we are. Igbo are part of ingredients of national integration, they are the most travelled and most enterprising people in Nigeria. They are creative, innovation, competitive and this is the basis of Nigerian economy today.
“Anambra is not making the progresses needed. Anambra has had Peter Obi, Obiano and now Soludo all from APGA as its governors and that is 25 years of political dislocation for this state.
“They need to join the ruling political party and they will be happy and better for it. Why should Anambra continue to live in isolation. If there have been superlative performances on that isolated platform it would have been a different thing. This is a vivid case if selfish politics.
“Other states have joined APC, but Anambra’s refusal to connect to the center has denied her people the infrastructure and other benefits. You have to be in the table to negotiate what comes to you and if you are not on the table, no one will speak for you. Anambra is the only place where APGA is in government and the party has refused to grow.”
Also, Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, said the good thing about the colloquium was that the APC has also come to agree that the south-east was being marginalised.
“The good thing is that the National Chairman of our party is part of the team of doctors that diagnosed this. There is need for national integration, cohesion and unity, so that we can have a pan Nigerian project.
“If we are craving for a Nigeria where equity and fair play will prevail, then we must be in the room where the affairs of the country will be discussed. We must rise from this room and resolve to be a part of the ruling party.
“We must go with capable men and women who will enjoy acceptance. We only need to understand the Nigerian political demography and create a corridor where we can use to exit from this political isolation.
“I’m a here to welcome Ifeanyi Ubah into our party. He has proven to understand the dynamism required to navigate the political sphere. He came to the Senate through an unknown political party and if he can associate with a known political party, he will do more.
“A time will come when those who helped Igbo to escape political marginalisation will be counted. I want to be counted as one who participated in creating an escape corridor for Ndigbo to escape marginalisation.”
In his speech, the Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Charles Esimone, noted that the 1999 Nigeria constitution as amended and lack of credible census were major tools for the marginalisation of the region.
Esimone, who was the resource person said it was no longer a lie that the current political arrangement in Nigeria does not favour the south-east and that it was true to say that the region was being marginalised.
