Ohaneze condemns AYCF comment on Northern Presidency in 2023.
Leadership of the apex socio-cultural Igbo youths organisation, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths Council', has faulted the comment credited to the leadership of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum that "North will present a better Presidential candidate in 2023" and said that such statement showed that its president was playing out the script of the Northern Elders Forum.
The Igbo youths group said that the NEF was indirectly fighting the Yoruba 2023 presidency, and was advocating a Nothern presidency beyond 2023, to checkmate Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the national leader of the All progressives Congress Party, Ahmed Tinubu.
It however, said the Igbo 2023 presidency project was more feasible, adding that it would unite the generality of Nigerians and helped calm frayed nerves, which, according to him, has heightened the agitation seen all over the country.
The President-General of the body, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, stated this during an interaction with our correspondent in Abakaliki on Sunday, adding that any move to have a Northerner returned to the number one position in the country, was dead on arrival.
Recall that the National President of the AYCF, Yerima Shettima, had while granting an interview to a national daily, said that the North will present a better presidential candidate in 2023.
This statement has since generated bad blood in the polity and raised eyebrows.
"Yerima Shettima is playing the script of the Northern Elders Forum, which failed woefully to enthroned Atiku Abubakar as president with the intention of extending North in power for 16 years.
"This is against the gentleman agreement of power rotation between the North and South. And their sole aim is to equalise what they perceive as Southern Nigeria being ahead of the North in 20 years of democracy.
"They want to do that to checkmate the Vice, Yemi Osinbajo and the APC leader, Ahmed Tonubu, ahead of the 2023 future political scenarios, because they know the Southwest has the intention of taking the presidency in 2023," he said.
According to the OYC helmsman, Shettima, who is the National Chairman of All Nigeria Ethnic Nationalities Youth Leaders Forum, was acting in connivance with the NEF to elongate the North in power for 16 years, saying that the zone felt it had higher population and voting strength than other zones in the country.
"The NEF wants to enlogate the North's stay in power for 16 years, with a wrong notion that they have more population and voting strength.
"But, we the Ohanaeze Youth Ndigbo Youth Council, have the data of number of Igbo voters in the North and mind you, the Middle Belt has aligned with the South to have an upper hand against the North."
The President-General of the youth group, who noted that President Buhari was a kind man and would not succumb to the dictates of the NEF, stressed that the President would handover to an Igbo man as he hitherto promised.
He added, "The Igbos in 2019, supported President Buhari, than in 2015, because of the immense efforts of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, through the office of the Secretary-General, Barr. Uche Okwukwu. So, Buhari is a detribalised man and he will handover to an Igbo man, as he promised, come 2023."