Apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) have said they are not interested in inviting presidential candidates of the country’s political parties to speak to them.

Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Alex Ogbonna said the group believes it should be the turn of the South-East to produce the president of Nigeria in 2023, hence there was no need inviting any presidential candidate for a meeting.

“In 2019, the Igbo supported Alhaji Atiku Abubakar wholeheartedly, and what the race is suffering today is the outcome of our deep support for him. But he worked against the Igbo. Is he the person we are going to listen to?

“Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a democrat, and he fights injustice, but yet he is going ahead to make sure that the South-West gets the presidency again.

“We are in tandem with other southern groups- Afenifere, PANDEF and the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) for insisting that the presidency should rotate to the South-East for peace in this country. So, there is no need to invite any of them.” On the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, Chief Ogbonna said Obi is a national icon and a global citizen working to positively rewrite the story of Nigeria, adding that Ohanaeze is fully supporting him.

President of the MBF, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, also said the forum could not invite any of the presidential candidates to address them because they have already taken a position.

He said: “Our position is clear, we told the world that we have assessed the candidates as individuals and as political parties. First and foremost, along with our friends in the South, we have decided that the presidency has to go to the South after eight years of a Northern president. Secondly, we came out clearly to say that we would not support a Northern president when any of them emerges as a candidate of any of the political parties. So, why invite someone you had already said you would not support when he emerged?

“Thirdly, in the South, there are two presidential candidates of repute who came out. One from the APC and the other from Labour and from analysis, we settled with the South-East candidate. We agreed that the best candidate for Nigeria at this time is Peter Obi and we have come out clearly without mincing words to say that Peter Obi is our candidate.

“So, why should we be hypocritical when we have already taken a position to want to listen to others? If somebody says he wants to talk to us in spite of the position we have taken, we’ll listen to him. But we have already taken our position, and that position is that we endorse Peter Obi from the South-East, given the fact that for fairness, equity and justice the president should come from the South-East.

“As a material, Obi stands out as the best in the political space in that position at this point in time. So, we are not going to invite anybody and we are not joking about it.”

[10/29, 15:52] Ali Adoyi Abah: Tinubu, Atiku, Obi ready to engage Yoruba, Igbo, other tribes

Leading candidates in the next year’s presidential election have declared their readiness to meet with other regional and ethnic leaders. This is coming following their meeting with members of Arewa Consultative Forum in Kaduna.

Presidential candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and the flag bearer of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, said they would be willing to engage leaders of the different ethnic nationalities in the country ahead of the February 2023 presidential election. A source from Tinubu’s camp, who is a leading member of the campaign council said: “Having started the appearance with the Arewa Consultative Forum, it is in our plans to also extend such appearance to other socio-cultural organisations especially prominent ones like Ohanaeze, Afenifere and Ijaw groups, among others.

“The possible date for such I cannot accurately say for now, but I want to confirm to you that meeting them is a given. What is certain is that our candidate wants to win the forthcoming presidential election next year and anything that needs to be done to facilitate his victory must be explored.”

According to the SUN, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on his part, said he would be willing to engage with stakeholders across the six geopolitical zones if he was invited. The Presidential candidate, who spoke through his media aide, Paul Ibe, said his recent interface with Northern leaders, in Kaduna, was at the instance of the Arewa people. The former vice president said if leaders from other parts of the country organise such event and invites him, he would attend.

His words: “It was not His Excellency’s event. It was an Arewa event. So others are at liberty to organise such an event. That will be good. It will enrich the process and the opportunity to engage different stakeholders in different areas. His Excellency has been doing that long before now. Every other thing that is done, in that regard to expand the scope of engagement will enrich our democratic system.” The Labour Party (LP) noted that it had already engaged with a number of leaders and groups across the country. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Abayomi Oluwafemi, told Saturday Sun: “We have already met all of them – PANDEF, Ohanaeze and Afenefere. We met them already about two months ago in Lagos at Baba Adebanjo’s House in Ikoyi. And of course, we plan to carry them along in our campaigns and activities. We met them and that is why you see them coming out for the first time to declare their support for the best man who is Mr. Peter Obi.” On the party’s preparedness to kick-start its campaigns today in Nasarawa, he said: “We are fully ready. We are ready to go to the nooks and crannies of the country to sell ourselves.”

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