Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze has expressed its dissatisfaction with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, over its decision to screen all presidential aspirants instead of zoning.
The group issued a statement on Sunday signed by its Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, accusing the PDP of insincerity.
They claimed that the PDP was ignoring the Igbos after milking their votes for 20 years insisting that if the party tries to manipulate the primaries it would be signifying doom for it in the 2023 elections.
The statement reads: “Ndigbo are not happy with the way PDP has abused the principles of the zoning formula enshrined in her constitution.
“This is unacceptable and has brought open the suspicion that the PDP NWC is not sincere with the Igbos after milking the Igbo votes for 20 years insisting that any sort of manipulation of the a PDP primaries will signify doom for the party.
“Any attempts by the NWC to manipulate the primaries in the favour of Atiku or any other Northerner will spell doom for the party. “
Isiguzoro went ahead to state that Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike and former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi were the best choice for the PDP.
“Both aspirants have shown courage and Igbo ingenuity in governance with a proven track record of accomplishments in Rivers and the Anambra States as Governors.
“We have monitored the progress made by the two Igbo sons and approved that their approaches to issues of the day and the dilemma facing Nigeria have sparked rays of hope for a better Nigeria”.
“Governor Wike has worked very hard to strengthen PDP as an opposition political party. This is why we are in support of Governors Ikpeazu and Ugwuanyi’s efforts to assist the Ohanaeze’s mandate of recovering Igbos in the South-South zone.
“It has been a herculean task to unite our kith and kin from South-South, who are part of us in line with the Constitution of Ohanaeze. All Igbo speaking States of Ohanaeze, including Ikwerre in Rivers and Anioma in Delta are part of the 2023 Igbo Presidency project.
“Mr. Peter Obi’s stand on issues of the economy and simplicity has earned him a lofty admiration amongst Nigerians, thus, are pleased as he accepted the challenge of throwing his hat into the ring and we wish him the best ahead of the PDP primaries.”
This article was originally published on Nigeria News