The clamour for an Igbo President in 2023 intensified at the weekend, as some pressure groups outlined reasons the Southeast deserved to produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor.
A former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode also lend his weight behind the clamour for an Igbo President. He however advised leaders of the zone to reach out to their colleagues in other zones to make the quest a smooth sail.
The groups that raised the clamour for Igbo President are the Nigeria Presidential Project (NPP) and a coalition of Igbo Youth Groups and Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide.
While NPP claimed it was had started consultation with President Buhari, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and former Nigerian leaders on the issue, the coalition of Igbo Youth Groups and Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide said it had already penciled in two Igbo sons as the most qualified for the position.
NPP Chancellor, Chief Walter Orji, added during the inauguration of the Imo State chapter of the group that they were optimistic that the two major political parties in the country—All Progressives Congress(APC) and Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) — would zone their presidential slots to the Southeast.
He said: “I have to remind you that it was Igbo that said that they want Nigeria. Without Ndigbo there will not be Nigeria. That’s why we cannot give up our entitlement to produce the next President. Any political party that refuses to zone its presidential candidate to the Southeast will lose base in the zone.”
The Director, Media and Publicity, Tony Nwachukwu told The Nation that apart from the incumbent President and Osinbajo, the group had reached out to former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan as well as erstwhile heads of state, ministers, the leadership of the National Assembly and political parties for their support.
Nwachukwu said: “We have equally reached out to the governors’ forum, Obas and Emirs. We have also appealed to Alhaji Abubukar Atiku in our mail to drop his presidential ambition.”
