‘Nigeria will break if …

…2023: We’ll back IPoB to actualize Biafra, if…—Okwesilieze Nwodo 

…Reiterates support for Igbo presidency …

Rotational presidency will enhance national unity—Akpulonu, Abia Minority Leader

 

Following the call by elder statesman, Tanko Yakassai, for Igbo presidency in 2023, the former national chairman of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, has declared that Ndigbo would join Nnamdi Kanu to seek Biafra secession from Nigeria, if South East did not produce president of the country in 2023.

 

 This came as an Akwa Ibom elder and pioneer National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, Senator Anietie Okon also said that Nigeria will break up if the North refuses to concede the Presidency to the South in 2023

 

 Nwodo, who was also the former governor of Enugu State and former national Secretary of PDP, said Ndigbo have suffered grievous marginalisation in Nigeria and should be given a chance to produce a president for the sake of equity and national unity.

 

He said this during an interview with the media on Tuesday, adding that South East geo-political zone has been persecuted for over 50 years even though the region is more patriotic than any other geo-political zone in terms of economic development of the nation.

 

He said: “Yakassi’s call is very fair and that is the correct thing. In the first republic, the country was led by Tafawa Balewa and in the second republic, it was led by Shehu Shagari.

 

And then, those of us in PDP made a very strong case to move the Presidency to South East because, even the military people were all from the north, apart from Aguiyi Ironsi who presided for a very short time.

 

“We managed to convince them at the party and Olusegun Obasanjo and Alex Ekwueme contested. That was when Obasanjo won and after his tenure, he handed power to another northerner, late Musa Yar’Adua who unfortunately died in office and the Vice president completed the tenure.

 

 President Muhammadu Buhari will complete his eight years in office by 2023. Following equity, the presidency should come to the South East because Obasanjo was president for eight years, now Yemi Osinbajo is also the vice president and would finish his eight-year tenure by 2023.

 

 “So, in Southern Nigeria, it would be a total disaster if we do not produce the next president because we have been terribly marginalised since the end of the civil war. For 50 years now, we have been persecuted for having fought for freedom. When will this marginalisation stop? Anybody who loves Nigeria and who wishes Nigeria well should go for Igbo Presidency in 2023 for unity, fairness, equity and for Nigeria to move forward.

 

“It is only an Igbo man that will not marginalise any part of Nigeria because we constitute the semen that hold the country together. We are the only tribe that you find in every nook and cranny of Nigeria, doing business and developing wherever we are as if it was our own place.

 

“I don’t believe that the Igbos are not united. There has never been a time when any region produced a consensus candidate. Everybody emerged through primary elections. The last election was zoned to the north and Atiku Abubakar contested with other aspirants before he emerged PDP’s candidate, so did Buhari contest with other candidates before emerging the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

 

There is no zone that has produced a candidate by consensus. It doesn’t matter how many people are interested. They will be subjected to party primaries and the person with highest vote will win.