Igbo leaders from the Southeast have vowed that the zone will not accept vice presidential slots from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or any political party in the 2023 presidential.
They also warned Igbo governors and other prominent politicians in the two major political parties to resist any pressure to be the running mate of any candidate in the presidential election.
The leaders are reacting under the premonition that some Southeast politicians, especially governors were ready to accept vice presidential slot instead of the Igbo presidency.
AT present, Ebonyi state governor, Chief Dave Umahi; for Abia governor, Sen Orji Kalu; former Imo governor, Sen Rochas Okorocha; former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Prof Kingsley Moghalu; ex-Senate President Pius Anyim; a former Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, Sam Ohuabunwa and Nollywood actor, Mr Yule Edochie, have expressed interest to aspire to the presidency.
However, the Igbo leaders, including the first Republic Minister of Aviation, Mbazulike Amaechi told Sunday Vanguard that the current mistrust among Nigerians could only be addressed by the Igbo presidency and nothing less.
He called on the APC and the PDP to present people of Igbo extraction as presidential candidates, adding that vice presidential slot should not be an option Southeast politicians should be interested in.
“For me, the office of the Vice President of Nigeria should not be the only option for the people of South East. It should not be the only option and it should not be the first option.
“What I want for the South East which has been so marginalized and so badly treated in Nigeria is the chance to be the next President of Nigeria, to bring about peace, to bring total reconciliation to Nigeria and togetherness in the country.
“President of Nigeria from the South-East is also going to restore peace, tranquillity and confidence in Nigeria. That is my first choice and priority.
“There are many prominent Igbo who can be president of Nigeria and even president of the United Nations. But there can only be one president.
“I called a meeting of Ndigbo on May 29, 2021, in my house, particularly the leaders of All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. It was a joint meeting at my house. It was attended by people of South-East origin. I told them that the only way to get the office of the president is for the two political parties to nominate their candidates from the South- East.
“As far as I am concerned, any South-East person who will be president, whether he is from APC or PDP, or whatever party they like, is acceptable to me. I don’t care about the party the person belongs to. What I am after is for a South-East person to become the president of the country.
“There are so many Igbo who can be president but there can only be one President. I am not happy with what am seeing. Already, there are so many indications of people who want to be president and if they go to their various political parties and say that they want to be president, they are likely not going to have any chance.
“It is not a pleasant situation but I am working also to see how the number will be pruned. Let them come, they are still coming up. When they all come out, we will see how the number will be pruned.
“As I earlier said, Vice President is not the first choice for the South-East. That is my position. Office of the President is my first choice and that is what any serious South-East politician should aim at and go for. If there is nothing else, then anybody can start thinking of considering the office of the Vice President. It is not good for the people of South-East.”
Similarly, the president of the Igbo National Council, INC, Chilos Godsent said the Southest region deserves to produce the President of the country and not a vice presidential slot.
“It is morally and politically right to give the South-East the presidential slot. All the major political parties should consider this.
“If they allow the South-East region to produce Nigeria’s president it will give the South-East a sense of belonging.
“This will end bias against Ndigbo. There is a need to include the South-East zone in the political system of the country.
“This is because the South-East has made more contributions to the development of Nigeria more than any other region.”
In his part, a London-based civil rights activist and National President of Human Dignity Restoration Association, HDRA, Jude Achebe said Southest should produce president in 2023.
“We wish to encourage Nigerian electorate that the election of an Igbo man to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari will be the best thing to happen to Nigeria. The office of Vice President is not an option to be accepted. We are qualified more than anyone else to be president in Nigeria.
“The Igbo man, if elected, will use his God-given ingenuity to take Nigeria to the next level. A Nigerian president of Igbo extraction will change the narrative about Nigeria for good. The Igbo man will see everyone as his own.
“In this digital era, Igbo man being a natural investor and industrialist will work to improve the power supply in the country and make our country great. He will create opportunities for millions of our youths who have taken to restiveness.
“If we must retrieve Nigeria from the present state of decay and backwardness, we must shun fronting our religion and ethnic cleavages in whatever we are doing.
“We, therefore, challenge Nigerians to elect the Igbo man as the President of Nigeria and not Vice President. We promise Nigerians that they will not regret doing it.”
Speaking also, the President of Igbo Academic Forum, IAF, Damian Udemba warned Southeast governors against settling for the vice-presidential slot, saying it is either the presidency or nothing.
“For how long shall we continue to play second fiddle? The Igbo like any other person deserves the number one slot.
“Did we offend anyone politically in this country? What would have been the fate of Nigeria without Ndigbo? Our politicians should be decisive and courageous on this. I am calling on South-East governors in APC and PDP to reject any offer to serve as someone’s running mate. They should run with us. Enough is enough.”
