Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
An Igbo socio-political and cultural group, Movement for Justice and Equity/Solidarity for Election of President of Igbo Extraction, has endorsed former Governor of Abia State and Senator-elect for Abia North district, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, the former governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Mr. Peter Obi and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu for a potential 2023 Igbo Presidency.
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The national president of the group, Chief Simon Chukwuemeka Ogonaezi, who stated this in Onitsha said that “there are other Igbo people who are fit for the seat of the president but we endorse the trio of Ike Ekweremadu, Mr Peter Obi and Chief Orji Uzor Kalu because of their good track records.
“2023 is the turn of the Igbo nation to produce the president of this country and whoever that is eyeing the seat from other ethnic nation is insatiable and greedy because the North and West have taken their slots.
“The All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal government should embrace Federal Character, government of inclusiveness in all their undertakings.
“They should ensure they zone the Senate president to South East. In 2015 during the inauguration of the red chambers, they claimed no APC senator came from South East and that was why they zoned out the Senate presidency from the South East.
“Presently, the Senate President comes from North, President comes from North, Vice President South West and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF) also from North.
In other to give the Igbo nation a sense of belonging, the Senate President this time around should come from the South East, the Deputy Senate President is not enough for the Igbo, the likes of Chief Orji Uzor Kalu and Benjamin Uwajimogu who were elected senators on APC from Abia North senatorial District and Okigwe North zone respectively should be considered for Senate President,” he stated.
He also condemned the marginalisation of the Igbo in the infrastructural development of the country, regretting that the South East is the most marginalised in a country whereas it is part and parcel of. He called on President Buahri to correct the anomalies in this second term.