Magnus Eze, Enugu
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has described the recent attempt to woo President Muhammadu Buhari to seek a third term as the handiwork of fifth columnists, saying it was an ignoble move that would derail the aspiration of the Igbo for the Presidency in 2023.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide has persistently pushed for the restructuring of Nigeria. The group has said that it would be morally undesirable not to have a President of Igbo extraction in 2023.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Chuks Ibegbu warned those campaigning for a third term for Buhari to desist from such an act as Buhari had categorically stated he was not ready for such an unconstitutional breach.
Ibegbu who said the fifth columnists sought to put the nation on fire, called on President Buhari to arrest the persons involved in the tghrird term agenda.
Ibegbu warned against any move in whatever guise to make the call for the extension of Buhari’s tenure a reality as that would mark the end of democracy in Nigeria.
“Though Ohanaeze’s position remains the restructuring of Nigeria; it’s morally apt for the Olu Falae/Olu Obasanjo scenario of 1999 to replay in 2023 such that both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) should field Igbo candidates, and Nigerians will now make their informed choices,” Ibegbu stated.
He also congratulated the Pan Nigeria Presidency of Igbo Extraction Coalition (PANPIEC), the umbrella body of groups pushing for the Igbo Presidency project in 2023, for their wide networks and mobilisation which was already making great impact across the country.
Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, recently, appealed to the APC and PDP to adopt the model used in 1999 when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo emerged the president by nominating candidates from the South East in 2023.
While advocating for a national consensus on Igbo presidency as recipe to create sense of belonging and save Nigeria’s threatened democracy, the VON DG said the only pragmatic answer to a peaceful 2023 presidential election “is the Falae/Obasanjo model”, that saw the two candidates emerge from the South West.