IBB lacks support in South East, says PDP chairman
By Bassey Inyang
Correspondent, Calabar
The inroads reportedly being made by
former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, into the heartland of the
Igbo in the South East may be a farce after all. The reports may be media hypes to give the former
dictator an assumed mileage in his campaign to be civilian president in 2007
The Igbo, who are keenly interested in
producing the next president, are saying IBB has not got the measure of support
being ascribed to him. They said they would mention their candidate for the
race who would enjoy their support at the appropriate time.
The Chairman, Ebonyi State chapter of the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Obinna Joe Ogba, told journalists in
Calabar, Cross River State at the weekend that there was no such support for
Babangida in the South East.
Ogba said so far as the area was
concerned nobody or party has come to canvass the support of the party and
people in the zone for Babangida.
The chairman said the Igbo in general and
members of the party in the zone are in support of the emergence of a
politician from Igbo extraction as the president in 2007.
Ogba said the silence of the Igbo over
who should be chosen as an acceptable candidate for 2007 was because the PDP
has not made its guidelines for the elections public.
He said by next year when the guidelines
are released, the Igbo would present an acceptable candidate for the office of
president in 2007.
The chairman said Igbo are disciplined
party men and would continue to abide by the dictates of the PDP on where the
candidate would come from.
Ogba pleaded that the party should
reconsider its decision to suspend the chairman of the PDP in the state.
He said the PDP should not forget that
the suspended chairman and others struggled to ensure that the party emerged
victories in the South East during the 2003 general elections.
