Ohanaeze, Igbo youths disagree on Obi’s 2023 ambition
The 2023 presidential ambition of former Anambra State governor Peter Obi has pitched the apex Igbo social-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, against youth coalition group in the Southeast.
While Ohanaeze insists that Obi is the right Igbo person for the presidency in 2023, the youth Igbo group said he should step down if his claim of loving Ndigbo was real.
Speaking with The Nation yesterday, the Vice-President of Ohanaeze (Southeast), Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, said Obi’s candidature was not negotiable.
He said Ohanaeze was not interested in any side attraction that would make it lose focus in joining Nigerians to elect the Labour Party standard-bearer as the president in 2023.
Okeke-Ogene said: “Obi’s presidential push is a divine intervention. It is not negotiable. We’re united with Nigerians pushing for it.
“Nigerians should not listen to any youth group trying to cause confusion. The support from Ndigbo and Nigerians is total for Obi.”
But the youth coalition group led by Dr. Chinedu Ekwealor called on Obi to step down from the presidential race because it would be a stumbling block to Ndigbo in future.
The body said his entry into the race would spoil the chances of Ndigbo becoming the president after 2023 without proper alliance with other ethnic groups.
It said Obi should join hands with progressive forces in the Southeast to negotiate a brighter political future for the Igbo.
“Let us not be emotional about it. No Igbo man can be president without a formidable alliance with the other major regions that make up Nigeria,” the group added.
