There is excitement in the South-East over strong feelers that former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi has been penciled down as the running mate of former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is the flag-bearer of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 general elections.

Speaking with journalists in Enugu on Friday, Bismarck Oji, a former leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo youth wing, commended Atiku for choosing Peter Obi as his running mate.

According to Oji, it is gladdening to hear that Atiku abided by the zoning formula in PDP, which ceded the Vice President (VP) ticket to the South-East.

He described the choice of Obi as a sign that Atiku would live up to his promise to enthrone governance based on fairness, equity and justice in Nigeria.

“However, what is paramount is Igbo interest. We want government that will give the Igbos latitude to operate and contribute to the growth and development of our dear country.

“The reality is that Nigeria will have election next year. President Muhammadu Buhari has failed in his chief duty in Nigeria, which is the protection of lives and property. When he campaigned in 2015, he promised to deal with Boko Haram in two months. Now, we have herdsmen.

“Atiku is a more detribalized and more liberal person. In 2015, Buhari and APC talked about restructuring. Sometime ago, they set up a restructuring committee that went all over the country and submitted a report. Yet, up till now, nothing has been done,” Oji said.

The Igbo youth activist therefore advised PDP to immediately constitute a committee to draw up a template for restructuring that would be signed by Atiku on national television, to show Nigerians that they were serious about restructuring Nigeria and not paying lip service to the issue like APC and Buhari.

•Sourced from Daily Independent report

Update news