2023: Northern Groups Say Igbos Can’t Be Trusted With Power
- Some northern groups say they are opposed to power moving to the southeast region ahead of the 2023 presidential election
- According to the groups, southeast politicians cannot be trusted with power because of their recent utterances
- The northern groups also berated southeast elders who have been insisting that power must move to the region
FCT, Abuja - The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNGs) on Thursday, May 12 faulted the approach adopted by the Igbo groups and individuals clamouring for Nigeria’s president of southeast extraction in the 2023 presidential election.
The spokesman for the CNGs, Abdulazeez Suleiman, who addressed journalists at a press conference attended by a Legit.ng correspondent in Abuja, said the Igbos cannot be trusted with presidential power.
Source: Twitter
He added that the Igbo elders constituted a serious threat to national security following their recent warning that they would disrupt the peace of the country if the southeast was denied the opportunity of producing President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor
He also slammed the Igbo elders for calling for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
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His words:
“The Coalition of Northern Groups has taken stock of events in Nigeria, particularly in the past few months when our democracy, political unity, and national security have come under serious scrutiny, noting especially, the unrelenting violent disturbances created around certain interests of the Igbo people.
“This is confirmed by the utterances and actions of such Igbo leaders as the former Governor of Anambra State and Chairman of the Igbo Elders Consultative Forum, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, when he threatened the continued existence of Nigeria during a condolence visit paid to him by Igbo leaders of thought and traditional rulers on April 5, 2022.
“Similarly, groups of Igbo leaders and elders have engaged in desperate covert and overt efforts to secure the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the IPOB terror group standing trial for crimes against the state.
“As if these were not enough, the same group of Igbo elders again recklessly issued a national security threat on May 4, 2022, that any attempt to elude the zone of the presidency in 2023 may rupture the existence of Nigeria as a corporate entity as well as aggravate crisis, conflicts, separatist demands, and others.
“The CNG observes that the perpetrators of this senseless violence are relentlessly pursuing the agenda of destruction and collective mayhem, fervently hoping it will engulf the entire country and bring about another civil war and mass killings.
“This has deepened the fears that the Igbo cannot and should never be trusted with presidential power and rendered their renewed desperation for the Igbo presidency suspect.”
IPOB denies plan to attack northerners in southeast
Meanwhile, the leadership of IPOB has reiterated that it has no plan to attack northerners or non-Biafrans in Igbo land.
According to the secessionist group, the Igbos are accommodating and hospitable, adding it was the only race that could do anything to protect non-indigenes during aggression and attacks.
IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, stated this in a statement seen by Legit.ng on Thursday, May 12.
2023: PDP dumps zoning despite agitations from southeast politicians
Meanwhile, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has opted to throw the contest for its presidential ticket open rather than zone it to a particular region of the country.
The spokesman of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, announced this decision while briefing reporters at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.
He said the NEC of the party aligned with the recommendation of the PDP national zoning committee that the presidential election should now be left open.
2023: FCI to partner with other agencies to combat fake news
On its part, FactCheck Initiative (FCI) has created a team for a cause that will involve partnering with the government and other agencies in other to have free, fair, and peaceful elections in Nigeria void of any form of violence in 2023.
The main aim of this cause will be to spot, examine and respond to the impact caused by any misleading information ahead of the upcoming 2023 general elections in Nigeria.
Adeoye Temitope, country director, FactCheck Initiative says stopping fake news and misinformation is the inspiration behind the project.
Source: Legit.ng
