Igbo Think Tank Board of Trustees Chairman Prof. Madubuike Ezeibe urged the G5 Governors of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, led by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, to adopt the Labor Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as his preferred candidate.
Ezeibe said that the G5 governors would make the right decision for Nigerians if they adopt Obi, given his acceptance by many Nigerians.
He spoke in Umuahia, the capital of Abia state, on Wednesday during the fourth edition of the International Igbo Christmas Retreat organized by the Igbo Think Tank and Nzuko Ndigbo.
He said Obi remained the most favored of the presidential candidates in the 2023 election, based on the qualities Nigerians look for in a future president.
He said: “We are Igbo and we have to promote our own. Think about age, mental capacity, it is not comparable with others.
“We insist that Nigeria should support a president of southeastern extraction.
“In 1999, the current political dispensation with former president Olusegun Obasanjo, then we went to North with former president Musa Yaradu, sadly he died and former president Goodluck Jonathan completed his term and power returned to North again for them to complete their turn.
“We are saying that the Igbo must be supported to produce a president.
“I am advising the G5 governors to adopt Obi, because he previously belonged to the PDP. If the G5 adopts him and the DPP National Assembly members agree to work with him if he wins the elections, that means the G5 have won because they will manage to bring the presidency to the South, while the party presidency can remain in the North. That’s a smart way to get what they want.”
Other issues affecting the South East and Nigeria discussed during the retreat include insecurity, the Igbo’s peaceful coexistence with other Nigerians, and the creation of an additional state for the South East as recommended by the 2014 National Conference.
In a commentary, local organizing chair of the retreat and Nzuko Ndigbo leader Chuks Ibegbu revealed that the retreat gives all Igbo-speaking Nigerians inside and outside the geopolitical zones of the South East the opportunity to discuss issues affecting them in Nigeria.
