Former governors of Anambra state, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife and his Enugu state counterpart, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo have said the outcome of the presidential primaries of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) had left their members from the south-east devastated.
However, Okwesilieze said it may be a wonderful consolation if the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi realises his ambition of winning the presidency in 2023.
The duo who spoke at a brief thanksgiving ceremony held for the former governor of Abia state and the immediate past Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu in Abuja, at the weekend, said the Igbos who had trusted that the two parties would deliver justice and allow the zone to produce their presidential candidates were dissatisfied with what happened in the end.
Ezeife who spoke briefly, said the question posed by Onu while speaking to the APC delegates during their convention about justice was very appropriate.
“I appeal to everyone, Igbos, Hausa, Yoruba, Fulani, Ijaw, and indeed all tribes to please help to bring justice to Nigeria so that people where is justice, we point to Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking on the issue zoning of the presidency of Nigeria and with regard to the fall out of the presidential primaries, Okwesilieze said the people of south-east felt disenchanted by the manner the two leading political parties ignored the clamour for the south-east to be given the opportunity to produce the next president of the country.
He said: “Many of us from the south-east believe that after a presidency from the north, presidency should return to the south and if it came to the south, one of the zones that it should go to is the south-east.
“We felt that it is a fact and that fact is looking for justice, looking for fairness and looking for equity. So if you go to the south-east, those us in the PDP feel devastated because we have given that party our all and when it threw the presidency open, jettisoning our constitution, which is based on rotation and zoning of political offices, we were truamatised and still devastated after the primaries.
“Again, we looked forward that APC will zone presidency to the south, since the Presidency has been in the north, and what they appeared to be doing was justice and we were hoping that justice will end up in the South East, but we saw how it ended,” he said.
Okwesilieze said Onu expressed the frustration of the Igbos when he made an injunction, “asking where is the justice?
He said a country that jettisoned justice was only leaving on quick sand, it cannot stand.
“There must be justice to all its people not to some of its people. But you know, after all my efforts in the past few years to midwife an Igbo presidency which I look forward to be the highest achievement of my political career and see what happened so far.
“At 72 I have decided not be emotional, but to look at the facts in the face.”
He said the struggle was not over until it is over, assuring those of them in the PDP would stay back and fight so hard to ensure Igbos would get their fair share if the party wins the presidency in 2023 election.
Likewise, he urged those other Igbo politicians in the APC to work hard to see that the people of the south-east don’t suffer the kind marginalisation they suffered in the last seven years in the current administration.
The former national chairman of the PDP also spoke about the chances of the south-east realising their presidential ambition through the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, saying it would be wonderful.
“And for my brothers who are supporting Peter Obi, I wish them well, believing that if they win, that will be wonderful. It will mean that my message and the message of my brother, former Governor Ezeife has finally come to fruition,” he said.
Okwesilieze described Onu as humble and one of the most detribalised leaders from the south-east.
“He is so much endowed positively that he cannot leave a position without leaving better than he found it,” he said.
While speaking at the occasion, Onu said he was confident that Nigeria could become great when it starts producing so many products that could be exported to other countries to earn more resources.
Onu who ran for the APC presidential ticket said:” Nigeria can only become a source of pride to the black race when it starts producing so many things that we now import. When we start having so many inventions, lots and lots of achievements and then the whole world will take note of it.
“So wherever the black man is, he will be so proud about Nigeria is doing.”
Onu said it was this hope of a great Nigeria that has been the driving force of his political aspiration all these years.
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