Home / News / Local / Don’t attack each other; Play politics without bitterness, Ohanaeze urges Igbo Presidential aspirants  
Prof. George Obiozor, late President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide

Don’t attack each other; Play politics without bitterness, Ohanaeze urges Igbo Presidential aspirants  

Prof. George Obiozor, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has welcomed the current presidential aspirants of Igbo extraction and encouraged others from the South East zone to throw their hats into the ring, stressing that following the well-entrenched rotation and zoning principles as well as truth, equity, justice and fairness, the number one position in the country in 2023 should be occupied by an Igbo person.

The apex socio-cultural organisation of Ndigbo, in a statement by Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, its National Publicity Secretary, also urged the aspirants, their “political jobbers, foot soldiers and cronies…. to desist from directing unwarranted attacks against one another,” stressing that “antagonizing a comrade in struggle is an obnoxious strategy with pernicious consequences.”

The Professor George Obiozor-led organisation equally warned that “both latent and manifest sanctions by the Igbo await likely defaulters.”

Full text of statement reads: 

PLAY POLITICS WITHOUT BITTERNESS – Ohanaeze Ndigbo

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide commends all the Igbo presidential aspirants in all the political parties for their doggedness and more importantly, their brilliant blueprints for a better Nigeria. Two things stand out clearly in the deliberations and permutations for 2023 general elections. The first, and of common knowledge is that going by the well-entrenched rotation and zoning principles in Nigerian politics, it is the turn of the South East of Nigeria to produce a President for the Federal Republic of Nigeria come 2023. Unfortunately, those who prefer crises to peace and unity of the country are bent on unjust and invidious machinations to deprive the South East the opportunity to produce a president for Nigeria.
Second, one area Nigerians of all persuasions easily come to a consensus is the Igbo transformative capacity, inventiveness, resourcefulness, wealth creation and high achievement motivation. Nigerians know that with an Igbo as President of Nigeria, the issue of power outages will be over; several companies, groups and individuals that had turned their backs on Nigeria will come back; Nigeria will become a competence based progressive society; there will be prosperity and full employment for all Nigerians; the security challenges across the country will disappear; the position of Nigeria in terrorism, corruption, fragile states and other derogatory indices will dramatically change; etc.
Ohanaeze commends the audacity in all the South East presidential aspirants; namely Professor Kingsley Moghalu, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, Engr. Dave Umahi, Mr. Peter Obi, Chief Rochas Okorocha, Sen Orji Uzor Kalu, Chief Sam Ohuabunwa, Chief Baywood Ibe and Dr. Nwachukwu Anakwenze. We also call for more aspirants to join the race.  It is important to point out that Ohanaeze Ndigbo frowns at any unpalatable or unsavory insinuations or remarks against any of the above aspirants by any Igbo person, group and agency as the campaigns gain momentum. It is advised that we do not face the barrel of the gun inwards. The presidential aspirants or their political jobbers, foot soldiers and cronies are advised to desist from directing unwarranted attacks against one another. They have sufficient work to do by directing their attacks on those Northerners who in 2015 and 2019 claimed it was the turn of the North only to turn around to debunk zoning and rotation for 2023. Ohanaeze Ndigbo reminds the aspirants that antagonizing a comrade in struggle is an obnoxious strategy with pernicious consequences. On the other hand, both latent and manifest sanctions by the Igbo await likely defaulters. The philosophy of politics without bitterness as espoused by Waziri Ibrahim is rather very golden For purpose of clarity, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide led by Ambassador Professor George Obiozor will at an appropriate time invite all the Igbo presidential aspirants with a view to pointing a direction for Nigerians.
The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Ambassador Professor George Obiozor expresses profound gratitude to Chief E K Clark and all members of PANDEV; Chief Ayo Adebanjo and the Afenifere; the members of Middle Belt led by Dr. Pogu Bitrus. Others include the Forum of Northern Elders for Unity (FNEU) led by Alh. Baba Mala; Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum (YRLF) led by Mr Akin Malaolu; the Arewa Support Group for Igbo Presidency led by Mustapha Imam; the leadership of South-East Muslims Elders Council, (SEMEC); Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ishola Williams and many others. We also commend the “45 Northern Civil Society Organisations for endorsing Igbo presidency”. The Northern civil society groups under the aegis of Concerned Arewa Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria insists that “power should shift to the South particularly the South East of Nigeria come 2023 in the spirit of fairness and justice”. Addressing a press conference in Kaduna on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, the spokesman of the group, Comrade Abdulsalam Mohammed Kazeem, stated that the South-East should be given the opportunity to produce the next President for Nigeria in 2023 to sustain Northern political friendship with the people of Southern Nigeria”. He also noted that lack of equity and justice are the bane of development in any sane society hence the need for power to shift to the South East. They added that “any Northerner contesting for President will be regarded as an agent of disunity and enemy of the nation. The group emphasized that “the South West is also a beneficiary of the benevolence of Nigerians who supported their first bid for an eight years presidency and vice president for yet another eight years should also be willing to relinquish the position in the spirit togetherness and nation building”.
All the patriotic Nigerians are urged to embrace truth, because only truth, equity, justice and fairness can reposition Nigeria on the path of progress. Any other thing to the contrary is a political mischief directed against the State. And as Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817) stated, conscience is an open wound only truth can heal it.
Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, National Publicity Secretary, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide

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