A pan social Igbo organization known as Ohaneze Ndigbo Youth Council worldwide has emphasized that both Presidential candidates of All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic party (PDP) stands the chance of claiming block votes from from entire South-East.
The group which warned Igbo Elders against mortgaging the future of Ndigbo said youth will abandon them (Igbo Elders) should they collect bribe ahead of 2019 elections.
Speaking to Journalists in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state capital after a consultative meeting, Leader of the group, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro stated that Igbo has no presidential candidate for the general election.
Also in a communiqué where they appraised the state of the nation with coalition of Igbo groups, they resolved as follows, “Ndigbo have not decided on which direction to vote in 2019,and no fewer and outdated leaders will mortgage the political future of Ndigbo as they did in 2015. We shouted then that things were not done properly in South East, especially to the PDP chieftains but now they’re heading the same way which is another political catastrophic mission which we will be resist by the Youths and coalition of Igbo groups. Ndigbo will not be carried away by euphoria of vice presidential candidate, an additional State Creation is better in the South East.
“Ndigbo Will either choose Who they will vote in 2019 Presidential election when the chips are down,nobody will decide for Ndigbo in 2019,We call on those Igbo elders to take the back seat as Igbo Youths and Agitators have taken over the drivers seat on where igbos will vote, as any Presidential candidate dealing with few elders will have a repeat 2015 episode, where Elders collected millions and betrayed PDP, and Igbo Youths boycotted voting. Ndigbo will decide by January. APC and PDP have equal opportunity in grabbing Igbo Votes in 2019
“We call on President Buhari to seek redress and appease Ndigbo before the year runs out to regain the loss confidence of Igbo Youths especially in terms of job creation and minimum wage issue, though we applaud Buhari on the massive road rehabilitation in the South East,We believe that Ndigbo will have rethink if Federal Government revamp Enugu coal mine.
Equally, they called on all Igbo tribe to equip themselves with their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs).
The group used the opportunity to plead with the military to be lenient while carrying out their Operation Python 3 Dance while on all Biafra Agitators to be law abiding.
“We call on Ndigbo to collect their PVCs immediately without further delay from INEC offices in their various LGA, we frown on the information of over 500 thousand uncollected PVCs in IMO state and insists that INEC should make it easier for Ndigbo rather than hoarding PVCs.
“We insists there will be election in 2019 in South East, and we will continue to persuade our Agitators to have a common ground. We urge Ndigbo especially Youths to be law abiding as operation Python dance is about to commence, by intelligent reports this Python Dance 3 will be more provocative than the previous ones and agitators should shun acts capable of losing lives of Igbo Youths especially the incident of a church where Biafran flags was exhibited in Aba, We call army to be more friendly in the Operation Python dance 3,and not to provoke Ndigbo,” the communiqué further read.
Similarly, the leadership of Igbo World Union has condemned in its entirety the recent endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku as the preferred candidate than President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of 2019 election by some elders in the region.
The President General of the union, Sir Mishak Nnanta, in a press briefing aligned with the position of Ohaneze Ndigbo Youth Council worldwide
Nnanta streesed, “Ndigbo have not decided on which direction to vote in 2019, be it PDP or APC Presidential candidate, and no fewer individuals or stakeholders should mortgage the political future of Ndigbo as they did in 2015,
“So Igbo World Union as the dependable body of Ndigbo in general did not support the stand of our elders who gathered themselves in Enugu on Wednesday 14th, Nov.2018 and unanimously endorsed Alhaji Abubakar as the preferred presidential candidate of the people of south east in forthcoming election.
“We distance ourselves from such stand and categorically want to use this opportunity to state that Ndigbo have not endorsed any presidential candidate be it President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC or Alhaji Atiku of the PDP.
“At the right time we shall gather and make our stand known to the whole world.
