Former president of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr Dozie Ikedife, has described the plan by the Igbo politicians to vie for the presidency in 2019 as a waste.
He said the probability of someone from the Igbo extraction getting the slot in 2019 was slim when compared with those from the northern part of the country.
The advice is coming on the heels of the plans by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to field Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state as its presidential standard bearer in the 2019 general elections.
Speaking to newsmen in his Nnewi home, the former Ohaneze Ndigbo helmsman argued that it would only be reasonable for the South-East to start talking of the presidency after President Buhari was done with his second term in office.
"I won’t advise any Igbo to pick a form for the presidential race. It’s a waste to do so.
"President Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and others coming from the north had better chances," he stated.
He said as much as it was the inalienable right of APGA to field a candidate in the election, Ikedife however wondered what informed the choice of Obiano as the flag-bearer.
“APGA can go ahead and field any candidate from Igbo to vie for it. It has such an inalienable right to field anybody as its candidate in the election but I don’t know what makes them think that Obiano would win," he noted.
While advising the Igbo to exercise patience, Ikedife underscored the importance of unity among the Igbos, just as he urged them to support any of the presidential candidates from the north who would recognise the economic and infrastructure deficits in the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones.
