Former Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, on Saturday called on all Igbo leaders of thought and stakeholders to produce one presidential aspirant of Igbo extraction for the presidency in 2023.
Okupe made the call in a letter to Igbos titled; OPEN LETTER TO IGBOS”, where he called on Igbos leaders to join well meaning Nigerians campaigning for fairness, equity and justice in the pursuit of a Nigerian President from the South East.
According to Okupe, Nigerians will take the Igbo race seriously if they can present a one Consensus candidate from the crowd of eminently qualified Igbo sons and daughters currently campaigning for Presidency.
“Fellow Nigerians who stand on fairness, equity and justice in the rotation of leadership in Nigeria will take the South East serious only if it can achieve this feat of presenting a concensus candidate from the array of qualified and eminent aspirants currently on the field in both parties, within the shortest possible time, possibly before the end of April, since the Presidential primaries come up from the end of May 2022.
“At the risk of being accused of bias , I dare say that the South East leaders must choose an aspirant from the PDP. This is the only politically fertile ground where the igbos have sown seeds of political support for more than 20years.
“ If the Igbos try to cast their net in the ocean of APC, it will be an attempt to reap where they have not sown and the chances of achieving an electoral victory at the primaries will be very remote.” He stated.
He urged the leadership of Igbo to pick their candidate from the People’s Democratic Party.
He stressed that the PDP is the only political party that can guarantee them the opportunity having sowed in the party for 20 years.
Okupe said he was aware of the repubilan and independent nature of the Igbos and the difficulties of achieving a consensus candidacy.
He therefore tasked the leadership of the zone to take a public stand and be seen to stand by it, so that 80 to 85% of South-East voters will follow them.
He implored the leadership of the South-East – political, traditional, religious, business, intelligentsia and other well recognized institutions in the South East – to move around and campaign vigorously and negotiate, to convince the people in various nationalities, and make pledges and promises that would make it easy to rally national support for the chosen candidate.
He said that many Nigerians are of the strong conviction that the next President of the country should come from the south east in 2023.
“For the political leadership in Eastern Nigeria, the fact that there are two major political parties in Nigeria must pose a problem for the leadership.
“Making it rather difficult to come out and prevail on the Presidential aspirants of Igbo extraction,in both parties to step down for the best and most nationally accepted amongst them.
“Yet without this singular action and step the Igbo Presidency will remain a political mirage and a pipe dream, God forbids.” He said.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I am not qualified to teach the igbo nation what to do, but as a principal stakeholder in the Nigerian project, who has worked closely with Nigerian leaders and institutionalized national stakeholders to install three past Presidents, and also as one who is sympathetic and committed to Igbo Presidency in 2023,
I feel compelled to express these opinions publicly.
“The views are not just for the attention of the leaders of the south east but also to assist to bring to bear on the good conscience of other nationalities and men and women of good will in the country, that Nigeria must prepare for an IGBO PRESIDENT in 2023. This is to foster true unity and peaceful coexistence and accomplish equity and justice in our polity’. He disclosed.
