Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Monday said Igbo in diaspora have set aside N10 billion to support any candidate of Igbo extraction that will emerge for presidency in the 2023 general elections.
Speaking at a meeting with the president of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Yerima Shettima in Kaduna on Monday, Secretary General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Worldwide, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said he led a delegation to Kaduna to beg Northerners to support Igbo to get the 2023 presidency.
Mazi Isiguzoro also disclosed that the delegation had met with some religious Clerics in the north over the presidential project, adding that Igbo believe in dialogue and negotiation to produce the next president of South eastern extraction.
He said the Igbo delegation for 2023 presidency would continue to lobby all parts of the country for the power shift to the South East region, adding that the Igbo nation including their kinsmen in Rivers and Delta states have abundant human resources that can produce the best for the presidency.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo scribe pointed at politicians like Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, amongst others as presidential materials. “We are begging the North to give us the opportunity. You should help us because we know that the North plays the role of kingmaker in politics of this country. We are here to ask you to support an Igbo man for the presidency. There should be no more abusive words between North and South East as we used to read on pages of newspapers.
“What happened to the cordial relationship between Zik and Tafawa Balewa, what happened to the good relationship between North and South East? We must bring back the good memories of old days for the unity and development of Nigeria. Igbo have one trillion investment in the North. We are for one Nigeria, we are not for Biafra. We need somebody that is of age that can unite Nigeria. We believe in one Nigeria. We have abundant human resources that can take over from Buhari.
“We have people who are committed to serve Nigeria. We have seven states including Rivers and Delta states where we have Igbo speaking brothers. We have politicians like Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, Rochas Okorocha, among others that can run for the presidency,” Mazi Isiguzoro said.
Yerima Shettima in his response told the Ohanaeze Ndigbo delegation that it was good to negotiate when seeking for power, adding that nobody achieved good thing through threat.
“I have always believed in pan Nigeria. I believe in the unity of one Nigeria. It is a welcome development that you are here to discuss the 2023 general election. Politics is about negotiation. You need to rise above board. Nobody will entrust power to you if you resort to threat,” he said.
