Why South East should wait for another five years, by Atiku Committee

As group woos Buhari to support Igbo presidency

Chairman of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Technical Committee, Raymond Dokpesi, yesterday, said the South-East should wait for another five years till 2027 to produce the president of Nigeria.

He argued that waiting till 2027 would afford the North the opportunity to complete former President Umaru Musa Y’Ardua’s tenure, who died in office and was succeeded by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Dokpesi stated this in Umuahia at the Abia State Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when he and members of the committee met party members to solicit support for Atiku’s 2023 presidential bid.

He said Atiku would serve only one term of four years from 2023, during which he would right the many wrongs in the country.

Dokpesi, who described President Muhammadu Buhari administration as a complete failure, said: “Nigeria is bleeding and on the brink of collapse. Although the South East is entitled to produce the president, they should wait for another four years from 2023.

Speaking, state Chairman of PDP, Dr. Asiforo Okere, recalled that the Abia chapter of the party supported Atiku during the party’s convention in 2018 and secured 74 per cent votes in the 2019 presidential election, adding that the gesture called for commendation.

He told members of the committee that their requests would be considered based on merit.

Dokpesi however, said failure to support the South East for the nation’s presidency would amount to injustice, adding that the greatest challenge of the country remained its unification.

MEANWHILE, as consultations intensify towards the 2023 general elections, the Anambra Civil Society Network (ACSONET) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari and other Nigerians to support a president of Igbo extraction, especially from the South-East geo-political zone.

In a statement issued yesterday by Chairman of ACSONET, Chris Azor, he also commended Buhari for appointing Senator Margery Okadigbo, as Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and urged the President to support an Igbo president in 2023.

“We urge President Buhari to go a step further by supporting the emergence of a candidate of Igbo extraction as president of the country in the 2023 general elections,” he said.

Azor, who is also the Coordinator of the National Coalition on Improved Service Delivery (NACOISED), noted that the quest for a president of Igbo extraction intensified since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced the date for the general elections in February 2023.

The group, therefore, backed the calls for other Nigerians to support the emergence of a president of Igbo extraction in 2023 for justice, equity, fairness and sustainable peace in the country.