Okwe Obi, Abuja

Pan-Ohanaeze Ndigbo socio-political organisation, Conference of Igbo Youth Professionals Worldwide, has declared the South East region will produce the president in 2023, especially with the support of those in the diaspora.

Its National President, Maduabuchi Nwodo, in a statement, yesterday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to reflect the federal character principle in all appointments.

He said: “The Igbo nation constitutes responsible, law-abiding and patriotic citizens, who are prepared to achieve their goals within the confines of a united and indivisible Nigeria.

“This, we shall achieve through non-violence means, as persuasion and conviction are the tools we shall deploy.

“We, therefore, call on our brothers from the other parts of the country, to recognise our cry for marginalisation, and support our course to produce the next president in 2023.

“Also, we call on the Federal Government to reflect the federal character principle in all appointments, to give Ndigbo the opportunity to serve their fatherland.”

Nwodo, however, accused the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, of abusing his foreign citizenship by allegedly inciting “violence against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

He urged the United Kingdom (UK) and Israel to call Kanu to order, maintaining that the quest to good governance must not be characterised by violence.

“We are disturbed at the incessant inciting statements coming from  Kanu, who has been parading himself as IPOB leader against the Nigerian state.

“We are aware of his status as a citizen of both the United Kingdom and the Nation of Israel. Having worked and contributed effortlessly to see Nigeria at its present state, we believe the United Kingdom and Israel would not want to see Nigeria a shattered place.

“It is in this regard that we are strongly appealing to them to rein in on Kanu, whose activities have been against the unity of Nigeria.

“Though our people are highly marginalised and deserve the right for agitation, but that must be done legally and by the appropriate people not a deviant young man like Kanu who is out for his selfish interest.

“However, while Kanu has a right to legally clamour for whatever he believes in, he should also know that the Igbo nation has recognised spokespersons in the forms of the governors, legislators and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group. Any serious statements are supposed to come from these people after extensive consultations,” he said.