Former Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife has reiterated his call that the South-East zone should produce the president in 2023.
He said it was high time Igbos were given the presidency for the sake of equity and fairness, saying the next general election could be the last that the zone would condone without producing the president.
Ezeife said Igbos should be ready to beg if need be, so other zones can leave the presidency for them.
The elder statesman stated these over the weekend when some youths, under the aegis of Anambra Youth Diaspora Initiative (AYDI), Abuja Branch, visited him in Abuja.
The Herald recalls that Ezeife made a similar call earlier this month.
While expressing optimism that the Igbo people would explore options available to secure the 2023 presidency, Ezeife said that electing a president of Igbo extraction would go a long way in promoting unity in the country.
He further expressed hope that good reason would prevail in other regions in the country on why the president should come from the South-East in 2023.
According to him, the quest for Igbo presidency couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time than now when the country needed to be more united.
“2023 is the final boost; we should beg other regions to give us the presidency because this is the time for Igbo to lift Africa.
“This is the time to take over the leadership of Nigeria and we will use our egalitarianism to lift the country.
“Every Igbo man prays that his son should be greater than him.
“If an Igbo man is elected, it will mean that everybody will develop and we will make Africa proud and become a super power among nations; that is where we are going,’’ Ezeife said.
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He also emphasised that Igbo presidency would prioritise education for all because it is crucial to lifting the country out of poverty.
“If we come on board, we will ensure that education for all is number one and with education, there is nowhere the country cannot go.”
Ezeife blamed the rising agitations across the country on failure on the part of successive governments to restructure Nigeria.
He said that restructuring the country would necessitate regions to develop at their pace and facilitate healthy competitions.
According to him, restructuring will come and eventually God will show mercy because Nigeria is a gem of a country given to its nationals by God.
He urged the Federal Government to ensure that every region was carried along in the disbursement of the 23 billion dollars loan being raised for Nigeria.