Ohanaeze Ndigbo has said that the Igbo will get the presidency in 2023 but for 2019, it (Ohaeneze) would only support a presidential candidate whose manifesto protects the interests of Ndigbo.
The president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mr. John Nnia Nwodo, who stated this at a reception organised for him by the Enugu State chapter of the pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation said when the candidates emerge, Ohanaeze would seek an audience with them, look at their manifestos and support the party that will best protect the interests of Ndigbo.
Nwodo, who was returning from the United States where he had inaugurated the North Carolina chapter of Ohaeneze Ndigbo, condemned the neglect of Ndigbo by the current administration.
“This neglect will be worked out. We will look at who will protect the interest of Ndigbo.
“Whoever wants to be president will assure us that he will not stay in office more than one term.”
Thereafter, he spoke about the deplorable state of facilities at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
“The runway is despicable. The terminal building is abandoned. The other one at the domestic wing has been carried by a hurricane. To disembark from the international wing took us two hours,” he said.
He also condemned the punishment that the immigration and customs official subject the Igbo to at the airport.
Nwodo who accused the immigration and Customs officials of extorting money from Igbo travellers also alleged that people who had personal effects were asked to open their boxes, whereas nobody did such in other international airports in Lagos, Kano, Abuja, and Kaduna.
Describing the neglect of the airport as “shattering”, Nwodo said it beats his imagination why a government would neglect an entire geopolitical zone.
Also speaking, the chairman Ohaeneze Ndigbo, Enugu State chapter, Mr. Alex Ogbonnaya, described Nwodo’s leadership as “exemplary” and “unprecedented” in the history of Ndigbo.
For the first time, he said the president general had been promoting handshake, not only across the Niger but also the South-South and South-West.
On the neglect of Ndigbo, Ogbonnaya explained that Ndigbo operated a communal system saying Ohanaeze intended to leverage on that by promoting the “think home” philosophy so that Ndigbo would re-organise themselves and realise their capacity to do things for themselves.
