A Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief George Moghalu, has said that the exalted seat of the Presidency is not going to be offered to a Nigerian of Igbo extraction on a platter of gold.
Moghalu, who is angling for the governorship of Anambra State, said it behooves Ndigbo to go the extra mile by reaching out to other Nigerians to actualise the aspiration.
He said: “It is also important for us to learn that power is not given but taken. The President of Igbo extraction means that as far down Katsina, Yenagoa, Calabar, Lagos, and so on, they all have a stake in the person who wants to be president.
“Because democracy is about numbers, it is incumbent on us now the south easterners to think out of the box. Build bridges and rebuild broken ones. Make friends because every election has two stages – primary and main election. So, we need to see to what extent we are in control of the party’s structures.
“We need to work very hard as a people. We need to unite ourselves. We need to understand in all honesty that we need the confidence of all for the role they will play of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction. He has to be elected by Nigerians.
“It is not about the Igbo alone electing the president. It would have been a lot easier if the Igbo were electing their president. Wherever we are, we all come home and elect our president. We are looking for the president of Nigeria but of Igbo extraction. We need to get the buy-in of everybody. We need to win the confidence of everybody.
“Let those in the PDP work hard and also those in APC do the same so that they can give the ticket to Igbo son or daughter.
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Moghalu, who is taking a shot at the governorship seat for the third time, said: “I am going for the governorship seat for the third time. I will give you the example of those who have tried three or four times and they are doing well and before God answers their prayer. So, the truth about it is that I am not desperate. I have said it because I believed very strongly that all powers belong to God. And He gives it to whomsoever He pleases at His own time.
“But, you must make yourself available for God to use you. If it is the will of God that I will be governor, nothing can stop it. If it is His will that I will not be governor, nothing can also make it possible. So, that fact is very clear. I will like to say at this stage that for every opportunity that one has, serve that posterity will remember you. That is my guiding principle.
“Truth must be told. There is no place an agreement was reached in terms of everybody sitting down to sign an agreement that the governorship must be zoned to the South. Truth must also be told that for justice and fairness, Anambra South should benefit.”
On the chances of APC at the Anambra governorship poll, he said: “There is a new reawakening across the country, particularly in the South-East. The fundamental point is not necessarily about the old narratives, it is about the new consciousness. PDP has ruled the state. APGA has ruled the state. Why don’t we try APC now and see whether the narrative will change.”
