A former governorship aspirant in Enugu state and a chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Alexander Chukwuemeka Obiechina, has advised presidential aspirants from South East (SE) to not only keep working hard, so as to realise Nigerian president from the geopolitical zone, but also put political parties apart and rally round whoever emerges from any of the major political parties.
Obiechina addressed journalists at the Greater Nigeria Conference (GNC) organised recently at International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja by an Igbo think tank, Nzuuko Umunna.
“Let them be working hard, but whereby any of them emerges from any of the major political parties, let others support, irrespective of political party”
Hailing the organisers of the event and the leaders of thought from different geopolitical zones, who attended the conference to justify the demand that Nigeria’s next president comes from SE in 2023 general elections, he opposed the idea of coming together of all the aspirants from the zone to support one person.
He rather suggested that the major political parties should zone the presidency to South east, as it was done in 1999, when the Alliance for Democracy (AD) allied with the then All Peoples Party (APP) to produce Olu Falae, while the PDP produced Olusegun Obasanjo, all from the South West, which according to him made it possible for Obasanjo from the zone to emerge as Nigerian president in 1999.
“There is no need for all the South east aspirants to come together and choose one person. What is important is for each of the key political parties to choose a presidential candidate from South east. The more they people are available for them to choose the best, the better for everybody.
“For instance, in 1999, it was zoned to the South west and Olu Falae aspired with others, and he emerged under the Alliance for Democracy (AD), and the APP. The same thing happened in the PDP where Obasanjo emerged and the two candidates from South west contested from the different political parties and Obasanjo won and became the president of Nigeria from the South west. So it doesn’t matter, the more they are the more chance you have in getting the best out of them.
Appealing to other Nigerians from other zones to put equity, justice and fairness into consideration and support the demand for Igbo presidency come 2023, he said that the elder statesmen, Edwin Clark, Ayo Adebanjo and Betrus Pogun, the leaders of South South (SS), South west and North Central respectively, among others saw the justification behind the demand and spoke at length on the importance of realisation of the demand.
