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2007: Igbo leaders reiterate stand on presidency
Soriwei Fidelis and Tajudeen Suleiman
Igbo Leaders under the umbrella of the South-East Caucus have restated their determination to produce the next president in 2007.
The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Sam Egwu, who chaired the plenary session of the caucus held in Abakaliki between the evening of Saturday and the early hours of Sunday maintained that the decision of the Igbo to produce the president was both viable and commendable.
The governor, however, condemned some Igbo leaders for questioning the desirability of the quest for an Igbo presidency.
Egwu whose statement was widely adopted by several of the notable Igbo leaders who attended the meeting, including the President of the Senate, Chief Adolphous Wabara, and former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, cautioned Igbo politicians to desist from making unsavoury comments about zoning and the supposed unpreparedness of the Igbo to occupy the nation�s prime political office in 2007.
Egwu reasoned that as a visionary people, the Igbo were blessed with several presidential materials.
The governor further called on Igbo politicians to be wary of disagreements among them on the issue of an Igbo presidency, stressing that millions of the Igbo are saddened by the inability of the leadership of the South-East to maintain a unified position on critical issues in the country.
Although former Governor of the old Anambra State, Dr. Christian Onu, agreed with the governor on the burning issue of the Igbo presidency, he pointed out that the South-East geo-political zone was being confronted by some problems which had to be addressed before the quest to produce the next president could be taken seriously.
Onu who argued that the country did not still have either democracy or federalism stated that the five governors of the South-East who should chart a course for the people to follow were not united.
He maintained that unless the governors appreciated the importance of unity to the political development of the Igbo, the quest to govern Nigeria would continue to be elusive to the geo-political zone.
The second part of the meeting, which was held behind closed doors from 10.35 on Saturday to 3.55 am on Sunday considered issues vital to the political and economic interest of the region.
Issues which came up for deliberation included privatisation, the 2007 presidency, revenue allocation, and reconciliation, and the bid to impeachm Abia State Deputy Governor, Dr. Chima Nwafor.
According to the Chairman of the session, Senator Julius Ucha from Ebonyi State, who read the communiqu� issued at the end of the meeting, committees had been set up on select areas of importance to the Igbo people.
The Punch, Monday July 19, 2004
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