Media Mogul Raymond Dokpesi has replied Ohanaeze Ndigbo over the latter’s attack on his remarks regarding the next presidential election in 2023.
Mr Dokpesi had recently in an interview with Daily Trust said the South-East and by extension the whole of Southern Nigeria lacked the political will to produce the next Nigerian leader when President Muhammadu Buhari completes his final term in office.
He supported calls for the Northern region to retain power, a submission the Igbo apex socio-cultural organization described as unfortunate, unreflective, weird and unworthy. The group said it was not surprised because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain was impressing his benefactors who, according to them, paid his school fees.
Responding in a statement, the founder of Daar Communication said Ohanaeze ought to know that other Nigerians do not trust the tribe they represent due to secessionist agitations from the Igbo predominant area.
“I have publicly come out to support and call on a South Eastern presidential candidate in the recent past, but the emergence of IPOB and its influence across the South East has complicated and undermined the agitation for patriotic Nigerians of Igbo extraction to lead this nation as far as the 2023 election is concerned.” he said. “If nobody has told Ohaneze Ndigbo before, the concern today from some other regions is that if Nnamdi Kanu plays the role of Aguiyi Ironsi in leading a militant revolt against constitutional government in the south east under Igbo presidency, the president will be pressured by his base to facilitate the UN processes for the South East to call for independence from Nigeria.
“Thus an Igbo President may be compromised in protecting the political and geographic boundaries of Nigeria whilst Nigeria remains under the threat of IPOB’s secessionist activities.
“Don’t shoot me, I’m just a messenger. It is unfair but neither the south south nor the south east nor the north east have the votes combined to determine the presidency on their own. We have to negotiate with other regions and were prominent leaders express such concerns based on the similarities of our history and contemporary circumstances, it indicates to me that the South East is not trusted with the Presidency in 2023.
“It indicates to me that the leaders of the South East have not done enough before now in dealing with and addressing the challenge that IPOB poses to their aspirations in leading Nigeria. Why and what to do to change this narrative is a question for leaders and politicians from the south east to determine but you can see and understand why we in the PDP must take a realisic, pragmatic and strategic approach towards supporting the North East zone for presidency in 2023,” he said.
The Edo-born politician also asked the geo-political zone to back the aspiration of former vice president Atiku Abubakar, the 2019 presidential candidate of the PDP who is rumored to be warming up to retry his luck again after unsuccessfully doing so thrice.
“By supporting Atiku Abubakar from the North East to victory in 2023, the rotation of power across Nigeria will have come full cycle and I believe that the agitation for a South East presidency will be better accepted and appreciated by the incumbency and other regions in subsequent elections after 2023,” he canvassed. “So taken in totality I do not intend to offend the south east or any of its eminent sons who are more than qualified to lead this nation. The south south and south west regions have already produced PDP presidents in the forth republic, so we have had 14 years in the presidency, while the north has only had 2-years under PDP.
“The nomination of President Goodluck Jonathan at the 2014 PDP Presidential Convention weakened our support in the North and ultimately lead to the APC and President Buhari taking over government in 2015. We need to retract our steps as a party. We need to consolidate our base in the South South and South East and we need to reach out across other regions of this country presenting a detribalised Nigerian that will be accepted and trusted to build the best “all-star” Nigerian team to get us out of our present quagmire without carrying the baggage of IPOB undermining their credibility,” he added.
