Igbo presidency is not a right – APC official

The APC National Organising Secretary and a party chieftain from the South-East geo-political zone, Barr. Emma Ibediro, has said the call for Igbo presidency is not a right.

Barr. Ibediro, who said this in Abuja on Tuesday during an interview with journalists, stated that a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction could only be produced when the stakeholders from the zone worked within the party to convince the rest of Nigerians.

“Igbo presidency is not a right; just like Hausa presidency is not a right. Yoruba presidency is not a right. Igbo presidency can only become possible if you work within the party and convince the rest of Nigerians to produce a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction.

“So, if the people from the South-east are aspiring to become Nigeria’s president, I think the first thing to do is to work within the party, to get the rest of Nigerians accept that position. It is not a right. That is what I would say,” he said.

The APC official, who was asked whether he subscribed to the notion that his party’s presidential ticket should be given to an Igbo man in 2023, said the platform of the ruling party was not built on the platform of dictating to the people.

He said the south-east needed to play good politics of engagement and consultation that would get other parts of Nigeria involved in their aspirations, stating that “for now, I don’t think we are playing good politics.”

Ibediro said, “It is a question of give and take. I’m an Igbo man and I need to be very objective. The president campaigned in all the five states of the South-east, just like he campaigned in every other state. But what was the return in terms of votes. So, you also need to encourage people to do something for you. You cannot at every point be asking for something without giving something back.

“Remember, if you check the percentage of population of members of APC and check the population of Nigerians, you will see that we are even less than five percent. So, we are talking about a president that will be a president of Nigeria, not a president of APC.