••• IS UNFAIR, INJUSTICE, UNPROGRESSIVE TO DEPRIVE THE SOUTH EAST
Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, the former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former secretary to the Government of the Federation, Olu Falae, have called for equity, fairness, peace, justice in allocation of power in the next year’s election.
The duo in different fora, reinterated the clarion call for the South-East to produce Nigeria’s President in 2023.
They stated that giving the Igbos the Presidency is the way to guarante peace, justice, fairness and sustainable national development in the country.
Obasanjo, while playing host to members of Political Action Committee, PAC, of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, at his Presidential Library, Abeokuta, told his guests that Nigerians would only accept the president from the South-East.
“The next president of Nigeria must come from the South East. The least acceptable minimum is a president from the Southern part of Nigeria”, Obasanjo was quoted by Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s spokesman, Alex Ogbonnia, as saying.
The Network gathered that the Obasanjo commended Ohanaeze Ndigbo for demanding their rights, saying that what he “owes Nigeria is sincerity, objectivity and guidance.”
According to the reports, Obasanjo said that he maintained the need for “morality, equity and justice in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural country like Nigeria,” warning that “it is inconceivable to have peace and progress in a country that is rooted in injustice.”
“Federal character, rotation of power and such other measures are meant to help our nation-building process and more sure-footedly, move Nigeria forward” and warned that “riding over these measures rudely, shoddily and roughly cannot augur well for our nation-building process and progress.”
George Obiozor, earlier in his statement, thanked the former President for his steadfastness and commitment to peace and unity of Nigeria.
According to him, Obasanjo is still one of the strongest voices in Nigeria and one of the most respected Nigerians in the world because of his track record of accomplishments.
He said, Obasanjo’s courage, sincerity, steadfastness and passion for justice, especially as it affects the Igbo and the future of Nigeria, is highly appreciated and commendable.
In another development, Olu Falae, also backed the call for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction stating that it is the only zone that has not produced the president in recent times.
According to Falae, the Igbos have been denied the presidency of Nigeria and that the region is the only one that has not produced a president in recent times.
“I expect that the South East will have a fair chance to ask for the president of Nigeria because in recent times the president has not come from the South-East. I said in recent times.
“For national unity and peace, yes, but the South East is not the only zone that has not produced the president in recent times. There are six zones now and in the recent past, the zones that have produced the president are the North-West, South-West and South-South.
“The North-Central, North-East and South-East have not produced president in the recent times, so there are three that have equal rights to ask for it if we want to be fair
“If we want to use North and South, then it’s between the two two (North and South), I insist it must come from the South because the present president is from the North.
“However, if we are talking of zones within the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, then we cannot limit it. We must look at all the zones that have not produced the president.” He said
