Anambra's Governor Obiano pleads with Buhari to forgive Ndigbo for not voting for him

ANAMBRA State governor Willy Obiano has pleaded with president-elect General Muhammadu Buhari to overlook the fact that Ndigbo did not vote for his All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last election and still appoint them to key positions.

 

During the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections, the southeast and its Igbo inhabitants voted en mass for President Goodluck Jonathan's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This has hit the zone hard as it does not have any APC ranking member of the National Assembly, disenabling if from producing either the senate president of the speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

Yesterday, Governor Obiano visited General Buhari in Abuja where he urged him to appoint Igbos into prominent positions while forming his cabinet. He added that the forthcoming administration would require the support of all Nigerians irrespective of their party affiliations to succeed.

 

Governor Obiano said: “I am also here to reassure him that Anambra and the southeast would support him and I also pleaded with him on some pressing problems that are of importance to the southeast like the second Niger bridge and some of the federal roads. We also pleaded in the area of appointment for the people of Anambra and of course, for people from the southeast be it ministerial, ambassadorial and what have you."

 

He, however, dismissed the insinuation that his visit was part of consultations to pave way for him to defect to the APC. Of late, it had been rumoured that Governor Obiano planned to leave this All Progressives Grand Alliance and join the APC.

 

Meanwhile, a coalition of Igbo groups have demanded that the position of the speaker of the House of Representatives should be zoned to the southeast, Igbo Youth Vanguard, Abia Democratic Initiative, Imo Professionals for Democracy, United Igbo Traders Association and South East Students Unions, have all said that failure to do so would amount to marginalisation.

 

Chikezie Emezuo, the coordinator of the Imo Professional for Democracy, said the groups believed that it was against the principle of federal character and national justice for the north to keep the presidency, senate and speaker of the House of Representatives positions. Stressing that any move to marginalise Ndigbo will not be accepted, Dr Emezuo decried a purported zoning formula where the southeast could be schemed out of the leadership of the national legislature.

 

He expressed regret that Igbo were being reminded that they were defeated and be treated as second class citizens at a time the negative effect of the civil war was wearing out. According to Dr Emezuo, it would be wrong for Ndigbo to be denied top positions in the National Assembly because majority of them voted for the PDP in the last general elections.