Igbo elders under the aegis of Igbo Elders Consultative Forum (IECF) have taken exception to the conduct of southeast delegates who participated in the recent presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Led by the former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, the group condemned the southeast delegates to the primaries saying they sold out their Igbo aspirants and voted for the ones from other regions for pecuniary benefits.
In a statement issued on Friday night by the forum’s secretary, Prof. Charles Nwekeaku, the elders said the delegates are saboteurs to the region’s quest to produce Nigeria’s next president in 2023.
They noted that the five south eastern states had about 389 delegates in the case of the APC presidential primaries, but shamefully, gave only 40 votes from that number to Igbo presidential aspirants.
“According to records, of the 389 Igbo delegates at the APC presidential primary, Ebonyi State had 39 delegates; Imo, 100; Anambra, 100; Abia, 100; and Enugu, 50 votes. However, 39 out of the 40 votes came from Ebonyi State delegates; 38 to Governor David Umahi, one to Ogbonnaya Onu and another one to Emeka Nwajiuba,” IEFC said.
The forum therefore vowed to sanction those who betrayed the southeast during the presidential primaries by jeopardising the quest for Igbo presidency in 2023.
“Shocking and saddening was the betrayal and unbridled collusion of some unpatriotic Igbo sons and daughters that shamelessly and unrepentantly joined those who do not mean well for our people to deny President aspirants from the South East their support and votes.
“They worked and voted for dollar and lucre at the expense of their fellow aspirants from the southeast arrogance and disregard of the demand of the Southern Governors Forum, Southern and Middle Belt Forum, Afenifere, Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Igbo Elders Consultative Forum, Ohaneze Global, among other credible and vocal stakeholders that demanded that the presidency be zoned to the south, and further micro zoned to the southeast.
“Except Ebonyi State, other delegates from Anambra, Abia, Enugu and Imo states and their sponsors need to explain to Ndigbo who they sold their votes to and at what cost at the expense of our collective interest of producing the president of Nigeria in 2023,” the forum said.
It said the southeast delegates would forever regret their unpatriotic actions against the collective interest of the Igbo.
“This will not happen again as the Igbo Elders shall provide a new leadership that will strengthen the Ohanaeze leadership in Igbo land.
“Those betrayals will retire from politics shamefully and unceremoniously as they will never represent South East in any public service again.
“We are studying the development, and will certainly, take decisive actions against those betrayals and opportunists, no matter their position and caliber, to serve as deterrent for those who are still plotting to betray the Igbos in the planned 2023 general elections.”
Besides, the forum slammed the major political parties for their refusal to zone the presidency to the southeast by “shifting goal post in the middle of the game.”
It further said the southeast would not vote for both the APC and PDP in 2023.
“For the political parties that denied the Igbos presidential slot, we shall reject them completely in the general elections of 2023 as they do not deserve our votes anymore,” it added.
