Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has rejected the report by the Bala Mohammed-led committee of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, which recommended that the party’s 2023 presidential bid should be open to all sections of the country.
Ohanaeze said the report from the committee led by Mohammed was capable of challenging the unity of the country and called for the withdrawal of the report which he described as unconscionable.
The Igbo parent body noted that it was committed to Nigeria to produce an Igbo extraction chair in 2023, adding that it will readily identify with any group that is ready for the deal.
In a statement on Thursday, Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s national advertising secretary, Chief Alex Ogbonnia, said: “Ohanaeze considers the report of the committee led by Bala Mohammed to be highly despicable, thoughtless and inconceivable. It is very worrying that some high-ranking Nigerians who have benefited so much from the unity of the country are inclined to take decisions and actions that further inflame the passions of the patient but aggrieved part of the country.
“To avoid doubts, the Nigerians agreed to rotate the presidency between North and South; in which case it is the turn of the South after the term of President Muhammadu Buhari. For the sake of clarity, both the Southwest and South-South had taken turns in the people of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, respectively. It is quite unpatriotic and a bit of Igbo sensitivity that the committee even suggests rotating the presidency to the northeast in the first instance and open to all parts of Nigeria as a major slight.
“It is disturbing that all the indignities, perceived and real, suffered by the southeast in the current administration are the result of Igbo support for the PDP since 1999. It is recorded that in 1999, the Igbo were allied with the PDP through which Chief Olusegun Obasanjo emerged as President of Nigeria; same in 2003 and subsequent elections in Nigeria.
“On the other hand, the Igbo had invested a lot of political capital in the PDP only to be betrayed by its apparent lack of principle. The PDP leadership is advised to retract the comment made by Alh Bala Mohammed and to repeal the content of the committee’s unpleasant report in the interests of the party.
“Let it be known that Ndigbo is not so eloquent about political parties. The Igbo is meant to advertise the holiday that is tailored to the interests of our people. It is instructive that Senator Ali Ndume, a head of the All Peoples Congress (APC) is among the prominent Northerners vying for the zoning of the Nigerian presidency to the southeast for the 2023 presidential elections. Other prominent APC heads are highly committed to the realization of this project and we will be happy to work with them in the general interest of Ndigbo.
“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by Professor Ambassador George Obiozor is committed to a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction and there is no turning back. It should be noted that the Igbo network transcends geographic space and enormous Igbo goodwill and resources around the world will be mobilized to achieve this equity-inspired project. In Obiozor’s words, the Igbo are a group of trusting people who do not hide their feelings easily no matter the consequences.
“He added that if you deny justice to the Igbo, be prepared for just outrage, diminution of authority, denial of government legitimacy and loyalty. Igbo faith and confidence are based on what you deny the Igbo in the morning, which they can give themselves at night through hard work and perseverance. We are not discouraged. “
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