President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesman in the Southeast, Dr Josef Onoh has stated that neither Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state, nor any other opposition Governor in the southeast geopolitical zone worked for the victory of the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Onoh said that the only Governors in the south-east that worked for the President-elect were the Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled states of Imo and Ebonyi, noting that the PDP shouldn’t accuse their Governors in the southeast of working towards the emergence of Bola Tinubu as president-elect
Onoh spoke in reaction to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Daniel Bwala’s pummel on Ikpeazu, whom Bwala alleged the Governor followed Governor Nysome Wike of Rivers state to work for the APC presidential candidate, Tinubu.
Following the reactions Bwala’s claim has gathered, Onoh said that whereas it could be believed that Governors Wike and Makinde of Oyo state worked for the Asiwaju, no other member of his 5-G Governors did, stating that the result that emerged from Rivers state was favourable to the APC presidential candidate.
He said that Enugu and Abia states gave APC the worst result in the recent time, which will be unfair to the APC for the PDP to brand the Abia state Governor an APC supporter while it was clear that the G-5 Governors supported their party more than any other party despite the smokescreen opposition.
He said that it was unfortunate that the southeast failed to vote for Tinubu despite the entreaties he made to them, but they went ahead and voted for the PDP and the Labour Party.
“But now that we have won, you cannot come after our sweat to seat down in the air conditioner and expect to be severed while toeing sentimental and ethnic lines. This time around, I urge the Igbo to go home and make a foundation on how to become, at least a vice president, show inclusiveness, show acceptance, show humility and not always boastfulness, or threats.
“Maybe after eight years of Vice Presidency, other ethnic groups in Nigeria will develop trust, and work together to produce a president of Igbo extraction which I believe and know we will achieve with the right attitude and manner of approach, but not when you are clamouring for another country you expect to be handed over the presidency.
“So I urge Governor Ikpeazu to be that bridge builder, educate the Igbos based on what he has experienced on how we can become bridge builders and good ambassadors. Then and then alone can Nigerians of other ethnic groups begin to develop trust among us,” Onoh proposed.
Reacting to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State’s claim that there was a conspiracy and a deliberate attempt by some unnamed persons to deny Igbo-speaking people of the Southeast an opportunity to produce a Nigerian president in 2023, Onoh said that the greatest conspirators against the Igbo are the Igbo themselves.
“Nobody conspired to frustrate the Igbo presidency rather the Igbos refused to work together with other ethnic groups and negotiate the presidency, they focused and invested energy on sentiment, entitlement, and threat of breaking away from Nigeria if the presidency wasn’t handed down to them as a right.
“They invested more time slaughtering their own, crippling their economy, they were agitating rather than negotiating and campaigning. When it eventually dawned on them that Nigeria has left them behind and our candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made tremendous inroads with his manifesto and presidential campaign, they quickly pushed into the political space, Ethnic politics, weaponised it and ignited tension in the entire political arena.
“So, which ethnic group will want a president from such an aggressive region, the most deplorable thing was that during the entire drama, non of our elders, statesmen and women, respectable and notable personalities in the southeast said anything nor advised against the consequences rather like Emperor Nero, that fiddled while Rome burnt.
“Our southeast politicians, elders, the rich, famous and supposedly mighty all fiddled while the southeast burnt. Tell me where was the conspiracy? It’s clear the conspirators and actors were the same southeastern even the churches, clergy, herbalists, shrines and voodoo priests in the southeast were all complicit and major actors in the alleged conspiracy.
“Clearly, the APC in Enugu state betrayed Asiwaju. They took him for a fool never believed he would win, and invested time awaiting campaign funds to share while ensuring the Labour Party won in Enugu and I still question and doubt the results that Asiwaju and the APC got in Enugu during the presidential election. None of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s associates in Enugu state was bold enough to stand by Asiwaju. It was only Imo and Ebonyi state that voted for Asiwaju,” Onoh alleged.
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