The socio-cultural organization of the Igbo people, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has demanded from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to zone their tickets for the 2023 presidential election to the South.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo warned against the two major political parties’ throwing open their ticket, threatening to boycott the election if they fail to zone it to the South.
The Igbo apex organization in a statement by its Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, apparently reacting to the stand of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) to throw open the ticket, insisted that any thing contrary to the agreement on power rotation would have negative consequences.
The statement partly read: “The Northern Elders’ Forum has opted for absurdity in issues that will strengthen internal democracy in all political parties and in the country. So, we are warning that any attempt by northern any group to arm-twist the two major political parties, through their sons who are National Chairmen of both the APC and the PDP, to derail the electoral process, will lead to revolts and boycott of the 2023 presidential election in the South, especially in the East.
“The leadership of both the APC and PDP are under coercion from northern lobbyists and northern socio-cultural groups to destroy the trust and confidence that bind Nigerians together through the rotational presidency between the North and the South.
“Those making such moves ought to have learnt from the sad experiences of the North when they frustrated President Jonathan’s administration and installed Buhari in 2015. The aftermath of that betrayal is the worsening insecurity in the North.
“We will encourage the Southern Governors and socio-cultural groups to mobilize our people and boycott the 2023 presidential election in the South, especially in the South-East if the Northern candidates emerge in APC and PDP.
“Whenever it gets to the turn of the Igbo, the narratives will always change against them. Whenever it’s the time for the Igbo to attain any position, there will be gang ups and clandestine networks to fuel crisis and disasters against them, but it won’t work this time. Igbos will surely survive all these political conspiracies against them.”
