Ohanaeze Ndigbo, South-West Zone, has accused President Gooddluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party Campaign Organisation of taking it for granted despite the group's efforts to help return him for a second term in office.

The President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo South-West zone, Prince Nathaniel Uzomah, spoke on behalf of the other presidents at a press conference at Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital. Uzomah, who was flanked by the presidents of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Ekiti,Ogun,Ondo,Osun and Oyo states and their executives, said that President Jonathan and his party have kept them in the dark concerning his manifesto and other issues as if they did not matter..

He advised President Jonathan not to get over-confident with the belief that Igbo votes have been signed, sealed and delivered to him.

Prince Uzomah, who is also the President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ekiti State Chapter, said that because of what a few Igbo in the presidency are telling him, President Jonathan now feels that he has all the Igbo votes in his kitty and as such does not need any more consultation with Igbo leaders anywhere in the country.

According to him, the way Jonathan is busy consulting the leaders of the other ethnic groups on a regular basis, he should try to be doing that with Ohanaeze, which is the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization with network in the 36 states of the federation and beyond.

Prince Uzomah said that Ohanaeze Ndigbo South-West zone is the mouth piece of the millions of Igbo resident in the region but they would only read in the newspapers that President Jonathan visited some socio-cultural groups or some ethnic groups in the South-West and has gone back to Abuja.

According to him, since all the Mr President numerous visits to the South-West, he has never for one day asked to see the Igbo living in the states in the region. He wondered whether this is an oversight or because President Jobnathan feels that they are not important.

Prince Uzomah said that in all the states, after the indigenes of the state, Igbo are always the next in population.

According to him, “What we are hearing is that some South-East governors and some Igbo in the Presidency have told him that he should not lose sleep over Igbo votes in every part of the country that they are already in his kitty. But I feel that this advice is wrong. Even if we have all agreed to vote for him, that should not mean that we should be neglected.

“I want to say that the appropriate quarter to reach Ndigbo is Ohanaeze because it is the organization that the people in the grass root know and we have branches in all the states of the federation. Whoever avoids this channel and said that he is dealing with Ndigbo or that he has got the support of Ndigbo may be making mistake.”

Uzomah warned that the claim that Igbo are stuck with President Jonathan and as such has no other option is wrong.

His words: “The claim that Igbo are stuck with Jonathan and have no other option is wrong..Nobody is holding gun over our heads to vote for Jonathan. We voted for him in 2011 and we feel that he did well in his first term and decided to vote for him again. But that does not mean that we don’t have options. Rochas Okorocha, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Dr Chris Ngige are all Igbo. Chief Chekwas Okorie is a presidential candidate and he is also an Igbo man.

“So, we have options. Even Ndigbo in South-West zone deciding not to vote because we are taken for granted is also an option because nobody would come and force us out of our houses to go and vote. So, we have plenty of options. But we have decided to follow Jonathan but we need to be shown some respect.

“Every ethnic group has there own way of life. Ndigbo does not attend ceremony without proper invitation but there are other groups whereever there is ceremony you will see them there but that is not our culture.”

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