Reject VP slots, Ohanaeze tells S/East presidential aspirants Blames insecurity on Owerri jailbreak

The Ohaneze Ndigbo has asked the presidential aspirants from the South East to reject vice president slots from political parties.

The group encouraged them to remain focused, tenacious and optimistic on their ambition because the clamour for an Igbo to be elected as Nigeria’s next president was morally and historically justifiable.

It again appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to find a political solution to the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and other Igbo youths in detention.

President General of Ohanaeze, Professor George Obiozor, gave the charge while reading his keynote speech in Enugu yesterday during the Ohanaeze Imeobi meeting held at the Ohanaeze secretariat.

He said, “All the double dealings about zoning and rotation of power is an orchestrated conspiracy to deprive the South East of the right to produce a president. I want to assure all of you that hard as they may try, they will surely fail. Ours is a right and just cause.

“In fact, we are fully committed to the resolution by the Southern and Middle Belt Leadership Forum (SMBLF) that no Southerner, in fact, a South Easterner for that matter, should denigrate himself or herself with the position of a vice president.”

Ohaneze emphasised the need for the Igbo wherever they resided in Nigeria to make haste to acquire their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs).

It lamented that insecurity had pervaded the South East since April 5, 2021, when gunmen attacked the Imo State correctional facility in Owerri and freed 1,844 inmates.

Ohanaeze described the Monday sit-at-home as a slur on the Igbo, saying that it had caused more loss for the region.

Meanwhile, the Ndigbo United Peoples Assembly (NUPA) has called on Nigerians to ensure that an Igboman emerges as the next president.

The national leader of NUPA, Prince Bartho Igwedibia, made the call in Awka, Anambra State capital yesterday while addressing some journalists.

He said the South East had credible and well prepared men and women to fix the nation’s challenges.