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From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Former Senate president, Chief Ken Nnamani and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, have said the people of South East cannot be better off in opposition.
This was as the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the zone, Osita Okechukwu, has accused the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, of tweaking the group’s constitution to suit his predetermined agenda.
They called on them to join the mainstream by supporting the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari in February polls.
At separate interactions with Daily Sun in Enugu, last weekend, they faulted the recent endorsement of the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, by the Nwodo-led Ohanaeze Ndigbo; arguing that as a socio-cultural organisation; they ought not to have jumped into the political fray.
Nnamani said: “We cannot close our eyes to a bigger picture. We are not qualified to remain in opposition. How many banks can you point at that have headquarters in Igboland; how many publishing houses are located in Igboland? We cannot be an island; we must try and belong to the ruling party; we are not qualified to run as an opposition group; we can’t make it. The Yoruba tried it; they did it given their revenue. They are two states in Nigeria that can survive without federal allocation-that’s Lagos and Ogun. Others must go to Abuja every month to collect money; otherwise, they cannot pay salaries. Lagos and Ogun can depend on corporate taxations. We don’t fit in there. No sea ports, nothing. We narrow ourselves because we want to justify some personal disputes; we bring it into political activities.”
The minister, on his part said the journey the President has started was like work in progress, warning that the people of the region will be going back to “before square one,” if Buhari was not reelected.
“So, it is absolutely important that the important programme, the agenda that he has set up for this country, the economic recovery and growth plan, is allowed to materialise and crystalise.
“We all have to understand that Rome was not built in a day. And he has laid very solid and sustainable foundation for our people. And we must not allow that foundation to crumble now,” the minister advised.
Okechukwu said Nwodo deliberately sidelined the General Assembly, which is the supreme organ of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, going by Article 10, subsection VI of Ohaneze’s Constitution.
According to him, “the Imeobi could have first drawn a checklist of Igbo Charter of demands and hand over to the two leading contenders -Buhari and Atiku. Secondly, convene General Assembly meeting to decide, but this was not done.”
