2023: South-East group presses ahead with Igbo presidency

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

Pan-Ohanaeze Ndigbo socio-political organisation, World Igbo Summit (WIS), has vowed to intensify efforts in ensuring that the South-East geopolitical zone of the country produces the next president in 2023, noting that the continuous marginalisation of the zone is unfair.

The group’s Director General, Dr Ifedi Okwenna, who addressed newsmen yesterday, in Abuja, said the body would assemble those interested in becoming the president during the sixth edition of its summit, which would be in partnership with Gregory University, to plot on how it would be actualised. Okwenna further explained that the zone would commence serious dialogue with other regions and organisations to support their quest in 2023. 

“If we tell you that we are not interested in the presidency of this country, then we might not be saying the truth. In all honest every Igbo man needs power because we have been out of power for a long time, although we might be divergent in the approach.

“The world Igbo summit group is an intellectual powerhouse. All we are going to do is to weave ideas. As a matter of fact, there is going to be an executive session where all the presidential candidates are going to meet and quietly discuss on the way forward. 

“That is the first decision the summit is going to take. In most cases, if we are playing the individualistic politics, we can’t bring all of them together, but all of them have agreed to attend.

“The Igbo nation cannot be president on itself; we need other people and that is why we have other cultural groups. It is not all about making noise in the media or forming small groups.

“Representatives of other social cultural groups, such as PANDEF, Afenifere, World Yoruba Summit Group, Middle Belt Forum and Arewa Consultative Forum etc. shall attend and deliver goodwill messages,” he said

He added: “It shall be a platform to develop the strategic formula for engagement of each segment of the Nigerian society, to achieve our agenda going forward, based on mutual trust, respect and shared understanding.

“We should recall that this 2020, Nigeria’s sociopolitical and economic life are negatively impacted by the ravaging effect of COVID-19 global pandemic, the impact of the recently suspended EndSARS campaign, the many security challenges the country is trying to contend with, etc.”