Politicians of Igbo origin in all political parties, particularly the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been tasked to stand firm in demanding equity and fairness.
The Ahamefuna Socio-Cultural Organisation made the call on Thursday at a press conference tagged ‘The Need For Nigeria Presidency From The South East Nigeria Come 2023’ held in Enugu.
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In a two-page resolution read to newsmen by a top member of the organisation and former chief executive of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, the organisation insisted that a strong demand be made for the various political parties to zone the presidential tickets to the South East zone.
According to them, the demand was predicated on the fact that the zone has not produced a president of the country, except for six months only, adding that it has also not produced an elected prime minister or president since independence in 1960.
“The South East has suffered monumental marginalisation of the zone since after the civil war. This marginalisation has reached new levels in the last seven years,” the organization said.
The Igbo leaders further noted that Nigeria has a zoning and rotational culture for the presidency, explaining that the agreement on rotational presidency was reached at the 1995 Constitutional Conference, and emphasised that the “rotation favours southern Nigeria at the end of Gen Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure in 2023.”
The leaders also stated: “When that presidency rotates to southern Nigeria, the zone that most deserves it is the South East, as other zones have occupied the seat before,” stressing that the zone “has many persons with the capacity, patriotism and passion to govern Nigeria.”
The conference was attended by notable Igbo leaders such as Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, who was chairman of the occasion; Chief Achike Udenwa a former governor of Imo State; Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Prof. Uche Azikiwe, senators Ben Obi and Azu Agboti, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, Lady Beatrice Ekwueme, Prof ABC Nwosu and Chief Dubem Onyia, among others.
Chief Iwuanyanwu said the event was a historic moment for the Igbo and advised all the people of the South East across all political parties to work in unity to actualize the objective of the Nigerian president of Igbo origin in 2023.
