Ohanaeze Youths Warn APC Against Gambling With Nigerian Unity

The Ohanaeze Youth Council, Tuesday, warned the ruling All Progressives Congress ‘not to play jamboree with the unity of Nigeria’.

The group’s national president, Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, stated this in the aftermath of the endorsement of Sen Alhmed Lawan as the consensus presidential candidate of the APC in the 2023 presidential election.

Recall that APC’s national chairman, Dr Abdullahi Adamu, announced Mr Lawan, Nigeria’s Senate president, as the consensus candidate of the party. His pronouncement was however resisted by other aspirants, including the clarification by the presidency that it had not endorsed any aspirant.

Igboayaka stated that, “As President Muhammadu Buhari who is from the North is finishing his tenure, a succeeding president must come from the southern Nigeria.”

Igboayaka particularly made a case for the South East to produce the party’s presidential candidate, arguing that ‘the southeast zone has not produced a president for over 57 years’ of the country’s existence.

According to him, “The only justice, fairness and equity in Nigeria is that the APC presidential ticket must move to South East, not North East.

“Sen Lawan’s presidency championed by some of the misguided South-East politicians is clearly a national disaster. Those on this dangerous and lonely road to cede president to any zone that’s not South East should have a rethink.”

He warned that the Igbo have no business being in Nigeria’s super-structure if South East is denied presidency in 2023.

According to him, “If the APC presidential ticket is given to any other zone apart from South East, Ndigbo have no business to remain in a country that’s characterized with injustice, marginalization and hate against Southeasterners.

“Those who want to push South East out of Nigeria should do it fast. Those who want to accommodate South East to still be part of Nigeria should cede APC’s presidential ticket to South East.”

He advised APC not to toe the line of the Peoples Democratic Party which zoned its ticket to the North.

Quoting him, “We have counted PDP as the worst political enemy of Ndigbo, and Igbo youths have vowed to teach the party a lesson. If APC makes a similar mistake by denying South East its presidential ticket, we shall teach them a historical lesson as well.”

He appealed to presidential aspirants from South West and South South to support Dr Ogbonnaya Onu.

Igboayaka said, “Dr Onu is a round peg in a round hole. It is only with a southeasterner as the president of Nigeria come 2023 that the unity of Nigeria will become evident and productive.”