Politics
Ngige’s Call On Igbo To Join APC, Childish, Pedestrian –Ohanaeze
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo last Monday described as childish, a call by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, that the Igbo should join the All Progressives Congress in order to produce the next President of the country.
The group’s National Publicity Secretary, Prince Uche Achi-Okpaga, in a telephone interview with our source said until an “Igbo man becomes president, Nigeria will never progress.”
Ngige, had while addressing the APC members last Sunday at Alor in the Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, said the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari had done well for the Igbo.
He had stated that the APC was the easiest political platform the South-East could use to ascend the presidency of the country.
Faulting Ngige, Achi-Okpaga said the minister’s statement was baseless and pedestrian. According to him, in 2019, the Igbo voted for the APC.
He asked: “Is Ngige from Ghana? Is he not an Igbo man? The APC got all the percentages of votes they needed from the South-East in the February 2019 presidential election. Was it a fluke or doctored? Were the votes not Igbo votes? So if he is saying Igbo should join the APC, is he saying that there are no Igbo in the APC, including himself?”
The Ohanaeze spokesman said people asking the Igbo to join the APC were just looking for an excuse not to field an Igbo candidate in 2023.
He stated: “I think his statement is very pedestrian. It is just that when you want to kill a dog, you want to find a fault to hang it. Just to find a fault to say that the Igbo are this or that. Let me tell you, until an Igbo man becomes President, nothing will move forward. Nigeria will continue to be a motionless engine.
“We have said the Igboman sees the entire world as his village. So if an Igbo man becomes president of Nigeria, there is no state, there is no village in Nigeria that you cannot find an Igbo man. So he has no time to marginalise anyone. The Igbo man lives in Sokoto, so the government will like to build roads in Sokoto because his brother lives there. The Igbo man lives in Kafachan. The Igbo live in Ogun. They live in Cross River. They live in all parts of Nigeria.
“The whole of Nigeria is the horizon of Igbo man. There’s no ethnicity in Igbo man. It is only the Igbo that practise one Nigeria, every other person is a hypocrite. So until Igbo man becomes president, Nigeria will keep running round the same circle. What Ngige said was just childish.”
On its part, the Peoples Democratic Party said the APC was not a viable party for Ndigbo to actualise any of their political aspirations in.2023. The PDP Deputy National Publicity, Mr Diran Odeyemi, in an interview with journalists in Abuja also said the PDP was not dead.
He said the comment by Ngige that the Igbo people should join the APC to realise their aspiration for the 2023 presidency was a mere campaign talk which had no practical validity.
Odeyemi said: “Ngige can say all that he wants to say. He can cajole the people to join them in the APC. But he knows that the South-East is a no-go area for the APC. There is nothing they can say that the people will believe them.
“In 2023, we are bringing out a great candidate that Nigerians will know and vote for. It is too early to be talking about zoning, but Ngige knows that the Igbo people will never go the way of the APC because it is a party that is full of deceit and lies.”
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
As the news of the defection of 17 members of Rivers State House of Assembly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP )to the All Progressives Congress (APC) continue to make the rounds, a cross section of Rivers people who spoke to The Tide have expressed varying views regarding the development.
At Etche, a senior lecturer with the Rivers State University, who did not want his name in print, said even though defection was the right of politicians, peace and stability remained more fundamental than any action that could further challenge the fragile political situation in the state at the moment.
He also warned that the situation should not be used to witch-hunt any one, adding that the state had suffered enough and needed to be at peace.
In his reaction, Engr Polycarp Geoffrey said even though citizens and residents of the state had cause to be concerned about the decision of the lawmakers, there was nothing to worry about if it was done in good faith.
“I don’t think there is any big deal about it – defection is defection. But people are worried because of past events in the state. So, for me, I don’t see anything about it”, he said.
Engr Geoffrey also urged the Governor Siminalayi Fubara to also openly declare political affiliation in a bid to douse the political tension in the state and to provide clarity regarding his future political direction.
Another respondent, Mr Ebere Alex, alleged ulterior motive behind the law makers’ defection but urged both the law makers and the governor to work for the peace and development of the state.
However, speaking on the development, a chieftain of the PDP in the state, Hon Nname Ewor, told The Tide that said his party would reach out to the remaining lawmakers who have not defected.
He also denied an alleged internal squabble within the PDP, adding that there was no crisis in the party.
It would be recalled that 17 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Rt Hon. Martin Amaewhule, during plenary last Friday, announced their migration from the PDP to the APC, citing internal party crisis.
Other members who also defected were the Deputy Speaker, Rt Hon. Dumle Maol, representing Gokana Constituency; House Leader, Hon. Major Jack, representing Akulga Constituency 1 and Deputy Leader, Hon. Linda Somiari-Stewart, representing Okrika Constituency; Hon. Solomon Wami, Port Harcourt Constituency 1 and Hon Granville Tekena Wellington representing Asari Toru Constituency 1; Hon. Ofiks Kagbang, representing Andoni Constituency; Hon. Peter Abbey representing Degema Constituency; Hon. Arnold Dennis representing Ogu/Bolo Constituency; Hon. Chimezie Nwankwor representing Etche Constituency 2 and Hon. Franklin Nwabochi representing Onelga Constituency 1.
The rest were, Hon. Azeru Opara, representing Port Harcourt Constituency 3; Hon. Smart Adoki representing Port Harcourt Constituency 2; Hon. Igwe Afforji ,Eleme Constituency and Hon. Lolo Opuende representing Akuku Toru Constituency 2.
By: John Bibor
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