Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has advised the leadership of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohaneze Ndigbo, not to allow the opportunity to produce Nigeria’s president in 2023 be lost by the Igbos.
He said Ohaneze should understand that the Presidency of this country is negotiated in several ways.
According to him, the Presidency “is either negotiated by votes or what you bring to the table and you must negotiate from the position of strength”
While reacting to the statement of Ohaneze Ndigbo to the effect that 2023 Igbo presidency quest is a plot to hoodwink Ndigbo, Okechukwu said: “May I once more appeal to the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo to start organising for Nigeria president of Igbo extraction in 2023, instead of agonising”.
He said going by equity and natural justice, it is the turn of the South-east to produce President in 2023.
Okechukwu said South-east is the only geopolitical zone in the Southern Belt that has not presided over Nigeria from the Aso Villa, since the rotation of the position of president between Northern and Southern Belts commenced in 1999.
“All we need do as the needful is for the Ohaneze Ndigbo leadership to think out of the box, reflect deeply, and dust off ancient stereotypes and prejudices by voting for President Muhammadu Buhari. The real politics is that voting Buhari will better galvanise and strengthen our alliance with the North, more than voting for Atiku Abubakar. Buhari has a vote-bank of 10-12 million voters, mostly his cult followership reflected in his bids in – 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 presidential elections.”
“2023 is our turn, unless we wittingly or unwittingly throw it away,” he said.
