David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and former deputy governorship candidate in Anambra State, Mr. Dozie Ikedife, has asked Igbo to begin to restrategise immediately on how and who would be the Igbo presidential candidate in 2023.
Ikedife who said he knew Buhari would be reelected, commended Igbo for doing better than they did in 2015 in terms of supporting his reelection bid.
He described as a major leap from where the Igbo were in 2015 for three states in the zone to have raised up to 25 percent support for the APC candidate and 25 percent from every state of the South South.
“If you look at the president’s acceptance across the nation, it has increased tremendously.
“So, that is something to celebrate. I’m very happy that Nigerians have given President Buhari new political capital to govern us for another four years.
“This is what we expected because we told our people to support APC so that in 2023, an Igbo could lay claim to the presidency under the APC platform. And it has happened,” he said.
He appealed to Igbo to rally round the Buhari’s second tenure administration and expect more patronages from the Federal Government.
According to him, if the Buhari government did not discriminate against Igbo in his first tenure when he did not receive good support from the Igbo, he would even remember the zone more now that there was a leap forward in terms of support.
He said he expected more Igbo to show presence in the APC “because we are the people at the gate now, hanging around the periphery waiting to take over from President Buhari in four years’ time.”