THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) in next Saturday’s election, has said that its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would wipe the Igbo of South East their tears if he is sworn-in as president.
Director General of the PCC of Atiku/Okowa in Anambra State, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, who stated this in an interview noted that the people of the zone had been relegated in the country such that they were not reckoned with in the scheme of things since May 29, 2015.
Okonkwo explained that Atiku would first bring the exclusion of the zone to an end, while carrying out the restructuring of Nigeria as he had repeatedly pledged.
He also said that Atiku’s economic policy will liberalize the economy and give impetus for the people of South East who are business inclined to excel in trade and commerce.
“Atiku will wipe the tears of South East people. All those things that our people have been losing would be redressed, starting from exclusion, the restructuring policy which will bring out the best of people of the South East, liberalization of the economy and supporting the private sector which is our core area, bringing security to the South East, which will herald economic development, and execution of the Appeal Court judgment on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; as well as security appointments that will bring us back to the top position in security architecture of the country.”
Okonkwo further urged the people of South East to vote for Atiku, as according to him, “Atiku Presidency will also bring fairness in the distribution of national wealth that will bring about infrastructural development. All those things that should be our expectations under him and eventually he would crown it with support for the PDP presidential ticket for the South East at the end of his tenure.”
Similarly, Deputy Director, Public Affairs (South), of the Atiku campaign, Chijioke Agu, also gave further reasons why the South East should support the Atiku/Okowa Presidency.
While pursuing their aspiration of a Nigerian president of South East origin, Agu asked his people to support PDP because it is one of the dominant political parties with spread across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.
Agu said: “I encourage our brothers and sisters who are rightfully agitating for president of Igbo extraction; we should also be mindful of the implications of throwing all our eggs in one basket and if by chance we finally all lose out. So, it is important that people are encouraged and not intimidated to be able to tow their political lines, which is the Labour Party; you’re encouraged to do that but do not stop other people from their own political affiliations because at the end of the day, who wins, it is the South East.
“Some of us who are in the PDP have listened to Waziri Adamawa Atiku Abubakar say he will be a vehicle to a South East Presidency, I don’t look at it as condescending. I look at it as a man who understands that these people truly deserve this position. So, what it means is that some of us who are presently in that party will hold him to that promise to be able to show that the proper southeast leadership is groomed while he is handing over in the event that he wins.”
Second of all, those who are pursuing the agenda to ensure that all political parties in Nigeria in the next dispensation should have a candidate of South East extraction and we would be sure that we don’t have people putting spanners in our works again.