Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, on Thursday said the South-East should be considered for the 2023 presidency of Nigeria because they are more knowledgeable about the country than other areas.
Fielding questions from correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he affirmed that Igbo are pan-Nigerians who live and invest everywhere in the country.
However, he noted that the issue of Igbo presidency in 2023 cannot be a matter of right but something that should be achieved through negotiations and conversations.
While distancing himself from the 2023 presidential race, Governor Ikpeazu said that political parties must consider the yearnings and aspirations of the South-East in selecting their presidential candidate.
Asked about his view on an Igbo president and whether he would contest the election, he responded: “I’m not interested in the presidency. I’m very busy as governor and thinking about what I will become now will amount to shortchanging my people who gave me a mandate for an initial four years and renewed it for another four years and it will terminate around May 2023.
“We are yet in 2021 and it will be self-serving for me to begin to think about what I will become instead of concentrating on serving my people for time they elected me. Maybe after 2023, I’ll begin to think about what next I’ll do.
“Having said that, I think that the south easterners have a right to take a shot at the presidency of Nigeria and I dare say that our qualification starts from the fact that we understand and know Nigeria better than the other states of Nigeria.
“I dare say, this is my opinion. We go everywhere, we are everywhere, we invest everywhere, we are pan-Nigerian people. Today, a lot of people, on a lighter note are afraid of Sambisa. But for an Igbo man, Sambisa is a business opportunity.
“So, it will be preposterous of me not to add my voice to that one. However, the question of Nigeria president of South-East extraction is a national question that requires negotiation, discussion and conversation with all parts of this country and I am least qualified to determine what happened in 2023.
“I also want to spend my time supporting the incumbent president to do his time and do his best while we wait for what happens to begin to unfold. So, these are my views about the presidency.”
The Abia governor spoke on the qualities that the 2023 presidential candidate must have and how the political parties may choose the individual, saying that he must have a pan-Nigerian mentality.
He added: “In first place, anybody who wants to aspire to the highest post of the presidency, it doesn’t matter where you come from, must have what I regard as pan-Nigerian mentality.
“He must be somebody who has an understanding of all the contending interests and influences in this country. He must understand that we are a country of diversity with different persuasions, tradition, culture, religions and all of these must be put at a place where you can understand and respect them.
“That individual must also be somebody who is ready to accommodate the youths of this country because turning it into a slogan the fact that youths are our leaders of the future have not serve us correctly because we are drifting into an age that youths understand which many people may not understand, those who grew up before this era.
“So, the person must be willing to accommodate the youth without necessarily throwing away very experienced ones, he must be able to find a labyrinth of all the interests.
“He must also reflect an extreme women agenda. Such a person must also be in investor-friendly, he must be an individual who understands the nuances of economics and what is the relationship between international politics and economy and the person must be strong enough to face up to the issue on the front burner, which is security.”
