OHANAEZE Ndigbo Worldwide rose from a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Enugu, the Enugu State capital, on Thursday with a resolution to set up a high powered committee to lobby other parts of the country to support the South-East to produce the president of Nigeria in 2023.
The meeting deliberated on the 2023 presidential election and the trial of detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu, among other issues.
President General of the Ohanaeze George Obiozor presided over the meeting.
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Ohanaeze reiterated that the call for a Nigerian president of South-East extraction is an idea whose time has come and can reposition the nation on the part of growth and development.
“Ndigbo are not secessionists or separatists. Igbos are prepared and deserve the presidency. It is politically defensible and morally justifiable. To realise this, the National Executive Council (NEC) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has established the Political Action Committee to be Chaired by the President General, Ambassador Professor George Obiozor, while the Secretary-General, Ambassador Okey Emuchay, will serve as the Secretary. The full composition will be done soon,” he said.
Speaking further, Obiozor called for the restoration of nationalism in the country.
“Nigerian nationalism is receding as ethno-regional nationalism is growing astronomically. It is time to rebuild and restore Nigerian nationalism and national spirit.
“As the national situation is today, it will require Pan Nigerians like Igbos to reinvigorate the nations path to unity. And a South-East Igbo president of Nigeria in 2023 will be one of the most critical but positive decisions of the nation’s history because it is the right decision and an idea whose time has come.”
Commenting on the continuous detention of Kanu, Obiozor said Ohanaeze has been consistent in asking for a political solution to the problem.
According to him, Ohanaeze’s demands include “prerogative of mercy for Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom and amnesty”.
The people of the South-East have been clamouring for an Igbo to become the country’s president in 2023 in order to reduce agitations by IPOB and other secessionist groups.
Politicians from the South-East who have declared their intention to run for president in 2023 include Anyim Pius Anyim, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, Kingsley Moghalu, Dave Umahi and Rochas Okorocha.
A reporter with the ICIR
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