The Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have said that Igbo presidency come 2023 is not negotiable.
In a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting in Minna, Niger State, the group said the Igbo would no longer play second class citizens in the country, insisting that it should be their turn to produce the president in 2023.
The communiqué, signed by its President and Secretary, Chief (Barr.) Austin Chimezie and Ahaiwe Jonnie, respectively, urged other regions to support the Igbo presidency in the spirit of power rotation.
It said the Igbo, like other major ethnic nationalities, played significant role in the making of the Nigerian nation from pre and post-colonial periods and should take their pride of place in the scheme of things in the country.
In actualising the Igbo presidency, the group said: “We encourage the Igbo in the North to make more friends for the Ndigbo as an important step for galvanising support for the Igbo man’s desire to produce the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Ohanaeze also dissociated itself from acts capable of causing dismemberment of Nigeria, saying the unity of the country was sacrosanct, even as it called for fairness and equity in the distribution of political offices.
The group commended the President General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo; for the well-articulated plans that saw to the oneness of the Igbo; and for his role in the intricacies over the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the 19 northern states and Abuja is in the forefront of advocating for peace in Nigeria: to live in harmony with host communities we find ourselves in the North,” it said.
