Ohanaeze Ndigbo Insists Igbo presidency

The apex social-cultural Igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has maintained that the presidency should be zoned to the South East.

The group’s President, Prof. George Obiozor, stated this to newsmen in Owerri on Monday. The group noted that if this is done, it will ensure national unity.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that Obiozor, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the United States and Israel, noted that the nation’s current state requires a president from the region. 

He stressed that wherever the next president of Nigeria comes from will send a solid message to Ndigbo (Igbo people).

“Nigeria will, above all, once again experience a resurgence of nationalism with enthusiasm under a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction, with malice towards none, and charity to all.

He urged the nation’s political class to put back its fears and prejudices against Igbos and look forward to moving the nation ahead.

Obiozor stressed that Nigerian politicians should embrace patriotism and political wisdom and discard personal ambition.

He added that the region has a good number of capable, patriotic, and credible personalities who are fit to govern the country and meet the expectations of Nigerians through equity, justice, and fairness.

Obiozor stated further that if an Igbo president is achieved, there will be peace and harmony in the country, which will lead to national unity and commitment to good governance with dedication, decency, and decorum.

“Igbos have been campaigning for their rights to leadership in Nigeria since 1960, hence the complaints of marginalization in critical areas of politics and government,” he said.

Obiozor charged political elites not to deny any group justice in the country.

 “We need a leader who can unite us as one nation and one destiny and not one Nigeria with disputed destinies as incrementally observed in our history in recent years.

 “How many Nigerians are more popular than Ndigbo political elites within and outside Nigeria who have high visibility and popularity in Nigeria and outside?

 “Above all, it is part of the prejudice Ndigbo complaint about that when the leadership opportunity comes to them, our rivals and political adversaries always try to shift the goal post whenever Ndigbo are within the penalty box.

“In a country where you have glaring statistics of power-sharing history as Nigeria, there is absolutely no doubt that it is politically and morally defensible and justifiable for power to shift to the South and the South-East,” he said.