Ahead of next Saturday's presidential election, an
Igbo socio-political pressure group, Eastern Peoples Front (EPF), made up of
eminent Igbo people on Monday endorsed the candidacy of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that anything short of that
would spell doom for Nigeria.
This came as the tension generated by the
endorsement of the PDP candidate by the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation,
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, refused to douse.
The EPF has notable Igbo leaders, including former
Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Lady Stella Odife; Prof. Greg Ibe, Senator
Emma Agboti, Dr. Godwin Udibe, Mrs. Adeze Okafor, Chief Obiechina Okoh and Dr.
Emeka Okafor as its members.
In a communique read to journalists at the Enugu
Sports Club by its National Coordinator, Elder Ken Emechebe, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of EPF
said its endorsement of the PDP candidate was to ensure the survival of Ndigbo
in the Nigerian state.
They described any “appeasement” to the current administration
in the country led by President Muhammadu Buhari as “a dangerous thing and
tantamount to committing suicide.”
EPF also declared support for the endorsement of
Atiku/Obi ticket by the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo,
insisting that they recognise the body under the leadership of Chief Nnia Nwodo
as President General as the mouth piece of all Igbo and that anybody who speaks
against Ohanaeze remains a renegade.
They condemned the sit-at-home order to Ndigbo by
the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), describing it as misleading,
infantile and irresponsible,
which they said should be ignored by Igbo.
The group said there are 26.7 million registered
Igbo voters across the country and that EPF was moving round every part of the
country to mobilise the
people in order to ensure that at least
16 million of them vote for Atiku.
The
group said: “Atiku/Obi ticket
provides accelerated pathway for Nigeria president
of Igbo extraction through a major political party in Nigeria.
“Between the PDP and All
Progressives Congress (APC),
Atiku is the only candidate
that is committed to handing over power to the Igbo
as equity and fairness demand.
“Atiku was the only candidate that committed to
practical and constitutional restructuring
of Nigeria to devolve power to the federating
units, and restore true federalism
and also ensure real autonomy of the judiciary.”
In his remarks, the former Minister of Power and
Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Prof. Chinedu Nebo, dismissed those who visited President Buhari at
the State House in Abuja
to apologise for Ohanaeze’s
endorsement of Atiku
as charlatans seeking personal aggrandisement.
He made it clear that Nwodo is still the President
General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo
contrary to assertion by the suspended Secretary General of the body, Uche
Okwukwu, and said any vote for
President Buhari is a
vote against Ndigbo, stressing “We
refuse to be cowards in the face of intimidation and brutalisation against Ndigbo by
the present administration.”
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