All Progressives Congress chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, says an
Igbo candidate cannot be trusted in the 2023 presidential election.
According to him, nobody is going to vote for people who
would use the same position to divide Nigeria.
Igbokwe, who is an aide to Lagos State Governor, Babajide
Sanwo-Olu, stated this in a PUNCH Live interview on Thursday.
He said the South-East geopolitical zone has indeed suffered “injustices”, adding that in “everything we share in this country, we get the least.”
He, therefore, urged the President, Muhammadu
Buhari to facilitate the creation of one more state to make states in
the South-East six like other geopolitical zones in Nigeria.
States currently in the zone are Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abia
and Ebonyi.
Speaking on the programme, the
politician, however, noted that despite the “injustices”, violent agitations
and killings were not the way to press for justice, equity and fairness.
‘IPOB supports PDP, started agitation after 2015
elections’
Igbokwe lambasted members of proscribed Indigenous People of
Biafra and other secessionists in the South-East geopolitical zone, saying they
are going about their agitation in a wrong manner.
He alleged that IPOB members are supporters of the Peoples
Democratic Party, adding that the secessionists began agitations to leave the
Nigerian entity after the PDP lost the 2015 presidential election.
The party stalwart said that only the PDP is currently
campaigning in Anambra ahead of the November 6 governorship poll while other
parties are allegedly being attacked.
He knocked Igbo leaders who are thirsty for the zone to
produce a President in 2023, saying they should wake up and do the politicking
and make friends in the other five geopolitical zones to achieve their goal.
As the 2023 general elections draw nearer, there have been
intense political posturing, permutations and fireworks, especially as the
eight-year regime of Buhari, who is from Katsina State, winds down.
The clamour for an Igbo President has since resonated with
some 18 months to the general elections. Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation,
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has been consistent in its demand for an Igbo
President in 2023.
The 17 Southern Governors had also met twice in the year and
demanded power shift to their region while the 19 Northern Governors also met
last week, opposing such move and noting that the candidate with the highest
votes will emerge as President in the next general elections.
‘Igbo people must drop secession agitation to be
considered for serious national posts’
Asked whether the agitation by IPOB and the other
secessionists in the South-East would be laid to rest should the zone produce a
President in 2023, Igbokew said it is not by force that the next Nigerian
leader emerges from the zone.
He said Igbo politicians should do the work if they so
desperately want the next Presidency, adding that Igbo people must drop Biafra
agitation to be considered for serious national offices.
The 65-year-old Anambra indigene said, “If you want other
Nigerians to vote for you, then you have to count how many bridges that you
have built; bridges of understanding, bridges of communication, bridges of
friendship.
“I want to see your
bridges and you want them to vote for you? Nobody is going to vote for somebody
who will use that position to divide Nigeria.
“You cannot be talking about secession and talking about
producing the President of Nigeria. We need to settle the issue first; we need
to say, ‘Look, we have given up this demand for Biafra, grant us justice’.
“Today, Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu) is in the saddle. How did
Buhari become the President of Nigeria? It was Asiwaju that wooed him in 2013
with Tony Momoh, with Baba Akande and they went to Daura to meet Buhari.
“They said, ‘Look, you scored 11 million votes in 2003, 11
million votes in 2007, 12 million votes in 2011. If I pull South-West, you will
get 17 million votes and you will become President.
“They went there to build a bridge and the rest is now
history and that was how Buhari that had lost hope became the President of
Nigeria.
“Somebody connected, somebody had sleepless nights, somebody
trusted.
“You will sit in one place and you are blackmailing other
people, you are not making friends, you are not building bridges and you are
threatening people.
“Drop your arms first and enter planes or luxurious buses to
South-West and pledge your loyalty to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that,
‘Look, we have been able to settle issues in our home, we need to be President,
we have not been President since after the civil war…
“Once you have settled that you have dropped this agitation,
that you are part and parcel of Nigeria and we see it in your action and deeds,
I am not talking about myself but other Nigerians because the issue now is
trust – we (Easterners) cannot be trusted. Even with the happenings in the
South-East, our leaders are playing politics with it.”
Igbokwe backs Malami, says Obiano can’t handle Anambra
crisis
Igbokwe, who had claimed his house was burnt over the
weekend by IPOB arsonists in Nnewi, further said he supports the planned
imposition of a State of Emergency in Anambra, noting that Governor Willie
Obiano has shown that he cannot handle what is playing out in the state.
“With this kind of fear, you can’t have election in
Anambra…South-East is now a war zone, the police is helpless,” the APC member
lamented, adding that a “State of Emergency is not out of place”.
Recall that the
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami
(SAN), on Wednesday, said that the Federal Government might declare a State of
Emergency in Anambra to ensure that the November 6 governorship election in the
state takes place.
But after a meeting with the President on Thursday, Obiano
said Malami was on his own, adding that Buhari was not in support of an
emergency rule in the state.
According to Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, a state
of emergency is a situation of national danger or disaster in which a
government suspends normal constitutional procedures in order to regain
control.
A declared state of emergency allows the President to
immediately make any desired regulations to secure public order and safety.
The insecurity in Anambra worsened a few weeks ago with a
declaration by IPOB that the November 6 governorship poll in the state would
not hold.
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