Igbo socio-cultural group Ohanaeze Ndigbo has rejected a proposal by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the support of the Igbo which will see him complete a single tenure of four years only if elected as president in 2023.
Leader of the technical committee for Abubakar Atiku Presidential Project, Raymond Dokpesi, recently visited the south-east and called on the region to back Atiku for the 2023 presidency, saying he is the shortest way to installing a president of Igbo extraction.
Atiku was PDP’s presidential candidate in 2019. He had former Anambra State governor Peter Obi as running mate.
However, Ohanaeze secretary-general Okechukwu Isiguzoro in a statement said Dokpesi’s remark was disrespectful to people of the south-east.
Isiguzoro also declared that the Igbo will reject the vice-presidential slot, stressing that the region should be allowed to produce a president in 2023.
He said: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has declared openly that attempts to trick and entice the southeast with attractive offers from the ally of former Vice President and 2019 PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Raymond Dokpesi to get southeast’s support for his principal (Atiku) in 2023 are hoaxes and collective disrespect on the sensibility of the people of southeast, no amount of enticing promises will make southeast to swap their right to 2023 presidency to anyone.
“Atiku Abubakar’s refusal to adhere to a written request from Igbo elders for a Mandela option of a single tenure in 2019 will continue to haunt his 2023 presidential ambitions, instead, he replied to Igbo leaders in 2019 with his then six years economic blueprint for Nigeria (2020-2026) which was a clear understanding of having the ambition of a two-term as president if elected.
“This evidence is now contradictory to the recent request from Atiku’s ally for southeast’s support, as no force can thwart the 2023 Igbo Presidency Project with vice presidential offer to the southeast, which is not feasible, as there will be a power shift from the North to the East in 2023.”
