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Ndigbo united on 2007 project
-- Udenwa
LERE OJEDOKUN, Abuja
GOVERNOR
Achike Udenwa of Imo State said yesterday in Abuja that the commitment of the
South-East to produce the next president in 2007 was sacrosanct, asserting that
Ndigbo were not divided over the project.
He told State House correspondents in a
chat shortly after a meeting with Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, that "the crux
of the matter is that the Igbo want to produce the president of this country".
He said in fairness, the geo-political
zone has waited long enough to have its turn while noting that it has the
"correct manpower" to produce a presidential candidate that would be acceptable
to the generality of Nigerians.
"The crux of the matter is that the Igbo
want to produce the president of this country and we are appealing to other
zones to support us, not by fight or by anything. We are just appealing to the
conscience of other Nigerians to check for how long we have had independence,
which is 44 years ago; then you check how many times the other zones have ruled
and how many years we have ruled.
"So, we are saying that we should be
considered and I am sure it is not just something to be given away for nothing.
We have the correct manpower, we have correct people and I am sure we are
capable of producing somebody who can lead this nation and lead it right," he
stated.
Governor Udenwa said the unity of Igbo in
the quest for the presidency is not in doubt, noting that "Igbo are united, I
don’t want to hear that the Igbo are not united. We are united than any other
tribe in this country".
The governor recalled that unlike
President Olusegun Obasanjo who did not receive the support of Yoruba in 1999,
the people of the South-East were indivisible on the 2007 presidency.
He noted, however, that it was natural
that on an issue like this, "you could not get a 100 per cent backing," but
insisted as far as Ndigbo were concerned, the next president should come
from the zone.
"You don’t expect that when such an issue
comes up, 100 per cent of the people will say yes. But what do you call, at
least the bulk of the majority of the people? If you go to Igboland today this
very Igbo presidency issue, at least you will have 80 per cent of the people
supporting it. So, how united do you want them to be?" he said.
On how to achieve the project, Gov. Udenwa
said the strategies include appeal, articulation of position and presentation of
"a president that can be elected by all Nigerians.
"We are trying to make a case, you must
make a case. At the end of the day, we are not talking about a president that
can be elected by only the Igbo, the president must be elected by all Nigerians.
So, the appeal is very important. We must articulate our position well. We must
also make sure we are presenting a candidate who will win the confidence of the
rest of Nigerians," he noted.
The governor also spoke on the Okija
shrine saga, declaring that "you can’t nail the Igbo because you have these
shrines all over the country".
He described as condemnable the
involvement of those professing to be good Christian and Muslims in idol worship
at the shrines.
On the recent on-shore/off-shore dichotomy suit instituted
by some states, Gov. Udenwa said his state was not affected as an oil-producing
state.
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