Ohanaeze Youths Call On South-West, South-South Leaders To Support Ayo Adebanjo, Edwin Clark’s Position On 2023

The Ohanaeze Youth Council, Wednesday, urged political leaders from South-West and South-South regions of Nigeria to support the position of the leader of Afenifere, PA Ayo Adebanjo, and that of elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, on 2023 presidency by zoning it to the South East.

Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, the national president of the council, stated this in a letter he addressed to leaders of the two regions, which was made available to THE WHISTLER in Enugu.

The duo had during the Great Nigeria Conference, powered by Nzuko Umunna, held in Abuja declared that it was unjust and unfair not to zone the 2023 presidency to South East.

In the letter, Igboayaka stated that he saw a new Nigeria with peace and tranquility if the counsel of the two elder statesmen was heeded to.

According to him, “These two democratic patriarchs of Nigeria narrated the chronicles cum litanies of political developments in Nigeria starting from pre-colonial masters to Nigeria’s Independence.

“These two octogenarians demonstrated their patriotism in seeking actual solutions to Nigeria’s socio-political and economic survival, therefore, they opted that the solution lies in the Nigeria president of South-East extraction in 2023.

“Pa Ayo and Pa Clark have laid a path for us. It is a pathway of fairness, justice and equity. They touched a salient point in the history of Nigeria.

“My South-West and South-South brothers should know that Nigeria has not existed on the tripod of fairness, justice and equity.”

Igboayaka quoted Pa Ayo Adebanjo as saying that ‘if presidency is by merit, then only the South East should rule till eternity’.

The letter continues, “But he believes in rotational presidency which he categorically stated that it’s the turn of South-East extraction to produce the next president of Nigeria.

“My dear South West and South South should keep this statement in archives because it will always stand as a historical testimony.”

He recalled that political leaders of South East, particularly Dr Alex Ekwueme of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Dr Ogbonnaya Onu of the All Peoples Party, in 1999, conceded their presidential ambitions to the South West as a political compensation for the annulled June 12 election.

Igboayaka therefore called on Chief Olu Falae to lead a Yoruba delegation to Bola Tinubu and Prof Yemi Osibanjo ‘to tell them to reciprocate what Dr Ogbonnaya Onu in APC did to him and the entire South West with APP in 1999. Pa Olu Falae should speak now like Pa Ayo Adebanjo’.

He further said that, “Pa Ayo Adebanjo and Edwin Clark are true symbols of political conscience in the South West and South South.

“This is the path they have chosen for South-West and South-South people, and only those with human conscience are qualified to walk on this path.”

The youth leader berated Wike, Amaechi, among others, for their presidential pursuit.

He wrote, “Characters of Gov Nyemso Wike, Chibuike Amaechi, Sen Ahmed Bola Tinubu, and Prof Yemi Osibanjo are what every southwestern and southsouther should abhor because they are planting a generational seed of discord.

“I appeal to South-West and South-South people to remind Wike, Amaechi, Tinubu and Osibanjo of what their actions could cause both present and future generations of southern Nigerians.

“Wike and Amaechi can’t be pulling their strength to deputize someone from the North just to shortchange South-East presidential aspirants.”

He also expressed disappointment in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s tacit stance on contesting.

According to him, “Our generation is highly disappointed in Goodluck Jonathan over his comment about considering to contest for presidency. The South-East people expected Goodluck Jonathan to be straightforward to stand for a zone who stood for him in 2011 and 2015 even when Gov Chibuike Amaechi from the same region betrayed him.”