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The Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu state, Mr. Osita Okechukwu has aligned with the Imo state Governor, Rochas Okorocha that the people of the South East geo-political zone of the country should shelve their presidential ambition till 2023, when President Muhammadu Buhari would have concluded his second term in office.
Addressing party faithful at the registration and revalidation center of APC, Iwollo Oghe, Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State, Okechukwu urged the Igbo to pray for and support President Buhari and wait till 2023.
The Imo Governor was quoted to have said during APC South East meeting in Owerri last weekend that, “What I do know is that Ndigbo should talk about President after President Muhammadu Buhari,GCFR. I think we should support this government, Buhari has another tenure to work for, according to the zoning arrangement and everybody should follow the zoning arrangement…”
But addressing party members and supporters at his ward, the VON Director General commended Governor Okorocha for his historic pronouncement saying, ” He was not sentimental and parochial, he looked dispassionately at the political terrain and realities on the ground. I have never seen Owelle think as deep and wax strategic as he did for our people. .
” Owelle’s speech is very timely, it is a counter poise to the statement made by our revered elder statesman and ex-president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who sounded more like an agent provocateur. He is neither a member of the APC nor PDP or to the best of my knowledge any other political party of note, yet he arrogates to himself the power to determine who gets what, when and how.”
Going further Okechukwu said, I share the view that, “in political domain there is the law with its legal teeth and the convention with its moral weight, the political convention today in Nigeria which the ex-president is a prime beneficiary of states – rotation of President – South 8 years and North 8 years. We stand by that convention. Since our entry into the Fourth Republic in 1999, we supported Obasanjo, the South West by extension, we supported Jonathan, South South by extension, now that Ndigbo has resolved to support Buhari, we are hopeful of 2023.
“This is why we are appealing to IPOB, MASSOB and Ohaneze Ndigbo to join us and reckon the truism that no one ethnic nationality can go it alone. Equity, justice and fair play is on our side for 2023. Luckily President Buhari is laying a solid foundation and infrastructural base for prosperity and progress of our fatherland.”
When asked about Buhari’s age and rumoured sickness, Okechukwu retorted, “there is a local parlance in my place which says that, many a time women maybe waiting for the old dry tree to fall for their firewood and to their dismay the young luxuriant tree falls. Mr President is hale and hearty and most importantly our lives are in the Almighty’s hand”.
