From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
The former Chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC), Chief Simon Okeke, yesterday, said in Abuja that any Igboman who failed to support the presidential candidacy of Mr Peter Obi should undergo a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) examination to ascertain the person’s Igboness.
Chief Okeke in a telephone interview said that even though the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) disappointed the expectations of the Igbo as it declined to give Mr Obi ticket which forced him to decamp to the Labour Party (LP), that the Igbo and Nigerians generally had a better option in Obi.
He noted that the agreement to zone the Presidency to the South and micro-zoned to the South East should remain sacrosanct for the interest of equity, justice and fairness.
This, he maintained, was the reason the candidacy of Mr Obi should be given unflinching support by all irrespective of ethnic, religious or political leaning.
On why Ohaneze Ndigbo as a body has not reportedly made an official declaration in support of Obi, Chief Okeke said he never believed that the apex socio-cultural group would not give Obi all the needed support to scale through in his bid to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.
“It’s true that Ohaneze has not spoken, but their body language is in full support of the LP presidential candidate.
“I must also tell you that the support for Obi-Datti coming from the North is genuine because Nigerians are tired of a government that cannot protect their lives and property. There are frustrations everywhere. So, nobody should doubt the support for Obi-Datti coming from any part of the country. Every Nigerian craves for change for better.
“It’s, however, true that not all shouting Obi for President are truly “Obi-dients”. But such pretenders are in handful, they can be measured. Majority of Nigerians need Peter Obi with the high expectations that he will salvage this country, ” he said.
Asked whether the nation’s electoral umpire would not disappoint Nigerians to dash the hope of the kind of President Nigerians desire, Chief Okeke said he could not speak for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as he is not part of the institution.
“But I can say that the INEC Chairman is generally disposed to carry out free and fair election.
“To a large extent, even the President at one time said that he would leave a legacy of a credible election. So, I don’t have much doubt that there will be free and fair election. We expect a credible election in 2023.
About the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the former police boss advised the Federal Government to withdraw its appeal to the Supreme Court against the Court of Appeal judgment that discharged and acquitted Nnamdi Kanu. He said that would remove tension from the South East.
He commended the Court of Appeal Judges in Abuja who discharged and acquitted Kanu in what he described as a historic and landmark judgment.
He said that Kanu should be released forthwith according to the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Chief Okeke took a swipe at South East Governors and security challenges in the zone. He berated the Governors for not being pro-active in their handling security matters in their various States, according to him.
“They are fragmented, no synergy, no seriousness and it appears they are confused.
“The Governors are just there collecting their monthly security votes. We are disappointed. They should come together, synergize and form a strong force to tackle insecurity in the zone. As for the Ebubeagu they talked about, there is neither Ebube nor Agu in that project, ” he insisted.