ENUGU — IGBO political leaders rose from a meeting in Enugu yesterday with a call on all Igbos and politicians of Igbo origin to launch an aggressive campaign for the zoning of 2007 presidential ticket in their respective political parties to the South East Zone in furtherance of their avowed quest for the emergence of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in the next election.
They particularly urged Igbo members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Alliance for Democracy (AD) to ensure that the objective was achieved. In a communique at the end of the meeting which was held at the residence of the APGA National Chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, the Igbo political leaders reaffirmed their resolve to work assiduously for the actualization of the Igbo presidency project in 2007, stressing that there would be no compromise in the pursuit of the ambition.
“We reaffirm our earlier resolve to work assiduously for the actualization of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2007 or whenever the contest for the presidency of Nigeria takes place,” they declared. Continuing they said:
“We mandate all our members and all Igbos from all registered political parties particularly the PDD, ANPP, APGA and AD to formally and immediately request the parties to present a presidential candidate of Igbo extraction in the next presidential election as soon as practicable.” They also urged all the parties to present an urgent and comprehensive electoral reform as part of the ultimate national restructuring process through the convocation of a National Conference. The forum also set up three standing committees to work toward the realization of the Igbo presidency project.
The committees are Contact and Mobilization headed by Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke; the Finance Committee headed by Dr. Idika Kalu; and the Strategy Committee headed by Chief Nnia Nwodo. Speaking with newsmen on the outcome of the meeting, Chief Ume-Ezeoke who presided over the session, said that the forum intended to get in touch with all ethnic nationalities as well as civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations across the country to garner support for the project, which was feasible.
He stated that the forum was different the South East Caucus, which he said was made up mainly of politicians and government functionaries in the ruling PDP, explaining that the membership of the South East Political Leaders Forum cut across all political and partisan persuasions.
Ume-Ezeoke said: “The meeting that I attended and chaired is the authentic South East Political Leaders Forum. The other one (South East Caucus) to which I have also been invited but did not attend, I saw it as being extremely partisan in the sense that it is made up of PDP officials and functionaries and PDP members of state and federal government, governors, their deputies, special assistants, commissioners, ministers and so on. So, PDP, which has already taken a stand on the zoning of the presidency, cannot be calling a meeting to deliberate on a matter which is already a fait accompli as far as they are concerned. So I thought that they are not serious. It is not a serious body to handle such an important issue that worries virtually every Igbo man.”
