The Labour Party's presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is no longer considered an Igbo project, according to the leading Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.
Chief Alex Ogbonnia, the organization's national publicity secretary, revealed this and remarked that the Igbo had exported the front-runner candidate to the rest of Nigeria.
Ogbonnia added that the Obi phenomena has been adopted and domesticated by the Nigerian people.
In response to certain Igbo elders' recent visit to the Sultan of Sokoto and Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, to further consultation and concrete plans for an Igbo presidency in 2023, he made this statement.
It was previously reported that Prof. Charles Nwekeaku, the secretary-general of the Igbo Elders Consultative Forum, had stated that the Igbo felt wronged by the two major parties' refusal to nominate a candidate from the Southeast for the presidency, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People Democratic Party (PDP).
He said that Obi, who he said had the support of northerners, offered the Igbos another potential path to the presidency in 2023.
In response, Ogbonnia stated that he agreed with the elders' stance in an interview with the Saturday PUNCH.
“As you must have heard, some Igbo elders are doing some consultations. We are still insisting on Igbo presidency. In the first place, if you watch the polity, you will see a lot of advocacies about Igbo presidency by Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
“We, the Igbo people, are so happy. We brought out our goods in the market and Nigerians bought them. What else do you expect us to do? We are happy. All Igbo are happy.
“Throughout last year and the year before, we have been talking about the Igbo presidency. Ohanaeze struggled to bring it to the fore. Luckily for us, Nigerians have bought it and domesticated it. Our product has been purchased.
“It is clear that the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, is no longer an Igbo project. He is now a national project. Ohanaeze has pushed out the matter to the rest of Nigeria,” he said.
In a related development, the factional Chairman of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos Branch, Chief Solomon Ogbonna-Aguene, said Igbo people would only cast their votes for a candidate that holds dearly the interest of the South-East.
He also advised Igbo indigenes in Lagos not to ‘put their eggs in one basket’ while trying to support a presidential candidate.
Ogbonna-Aguene added that the Lagos chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo had agreed to only vote for a presidential candidate who would better the lives and change the fortunes of Igbo residents in the state.
“Ndigbo in Lagos should not put their eggs in one basket. We must be mindful of what we say. Whoever you vote for should be able to change your life for the better. Also, we have to know the person with the interest of Ndigbo at heart; one who prioritises Ndigbo. That is the one we will vote for the presidency.