Apex Igbo organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo yesterday declared that after the expiration of President Goodluck Jonathan second term bid, the next president of Nigeria must be from the South-East geo-political zone in 2019.
President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey, stated this at the World Igbo Day celebration at Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, the Anambra State capital.
Enwo-Igariwey stated that: “My fellow Ndigbo, there is no social order without a political process. We reiterate that for equity and justice, Ndigbo will seek the office of President of this country at the expiration of the tenure of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. This has been Ohanaeze’s position since 2010 and it remains unchanged.”
He also kicked-off the drive to boost the economy of the states in the zone with a call on their people to embrace think-home philosophy and invest in Igboland.
Ohaneze appealed to Igbo abroad and other states of the federation to repatriate their wealth and invest it at home in the interest of their people.
Enwo-Igariwey stated that the call on the people to jettison the practice of locating their businesses outside Igboland did not stem from parochialism or informed by hatred for one Nigeria, rather that it was a way of sustaining the fragile fabric of a united country.
He said that the spectre of Ndigbo being landlords in Lagos, Abuja or Kano, but reside in hotels in Enugu, Awka or Owerri was “unacceptable, shocking, ludicrous and against all logical considerations.”
Enwo-Igariwey who contended that the reality of having trillions of naira invested in other sections of the country to the neglect of Igboland called for sober reflection, adding that the security situation in some parts of the country had exposed Ndigbo to clear danger, both to their lives and investments.
The Ohanaeze President in Anambra State, Elder Chris Eluemunoh, said that the year’s celebration should be of great significance to Ndigbo as they ought to look back at their journey in the past 100 years of the Nigeria project.
He said: “There is need for Ndigbo to use this occasion to properly articulate their collective aspiration, especially in the political leadership of the country and galvanise actions that will advance the Igbo cause within the Nigerian polity.”
President of Igbo World Assembly, Dr. Nwachukwu Anakwenze, who attended the event with members of his group, echoed the same call, saying that Ndigbo should now invest in Igboland.
“We want to develop Igboland, if you want to build anything, build it first here before going to other places,” Anakwenze stressed.
The event attracted chieftains and members of the Ohanaeze from the 36 states and Abuja with goodwill messages from the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF and Ijaw National Congress, INC, among others.
Source: Nigerian Pilot
