A presidential aspirant for 2023 general election and former Chief Judge of Anambra State, Professor Peter Umeadi has argued that electing an Igbo as president of Nigeria in 2023 would ensure full integration of all sections of the country, which is being clamoured for since the end of the Nigeria civil war 51 years ago.
Umeadi spoke when delegates from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, as well as the leadership of the forum for 2023 Igbo president visited him as part of a ceremony where former Presidents – General of 2000 communities from the five South East states endorsed him as Igbo candidate for 2023.
Accepting the endorsement, Justice Umeadi said the fact was that there was a civil war, which was won and lost.
Umeadi said: “The Igbo returned from Biafra to Nigeria. Since that return, there ought to be a wholesome integration and a new beginning for the Igbo on the one hand and the Igbo with their fellow compatriots in Nigeria on the other hand, which did not happen. “Perhaps that is the lacuna which the Igbo president in Nigeria of 2023 would fill.
“I have said it that a South East President in 2023 for eight years after President Muhammadu Buhari would reposition Nigeria for good.
“In this context, we should focus metaphorically post Alex Ekwueme united Nigeria, where the Igbo should aim at acquiring political power through the ballot box.
“Since 2019, I have appealed to the people of the South East to negotiate political power with other geopolitical zones. We have come to the bridge where it is morally indefensible to deny the Igbo the opportunity to vie and win the highest office in the land, which is the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the general elections of 2023.
“I am overwhelmed as the past presidents of town unions in the entire South East, spanning Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi states with its 2000 communities unanimously endorsed me as the Igbo candidate for the 2023 presidential election.
“This is historical, epochal and monumental, all at one. This transcends winning or losing the election. It beats a pathway to unity, cohesion and a vehicle to collectively harness our efforts in building a united prospectus Nigeria and in the prodders, reap our first desserts.
“I, therefore, accept the endorsement. Though I am an Igbo man, I want to be president of Nigeria and want all Nigerians to see me as that and follow and trust me and together we could reposition our dear country Nigeria within four years.
“I look forward to a Nigeria where justice would reign for all citizens equally irrespective of tribe or status.
“Nigerians are entitled to affordable healthcare, food on their table, security of lives and property and the ability to achieve their life ambitions in a setting presenting a level playing field and predetermined standards.
“In order to achieve our collective dreams for a functioning Nigeria, we may embark on a crucial painstaking, and inevitable changes, bordering sometimes on sacrifices according to law.
“In achieving these, I firmly and unequivocally subscribe to the fact that the sovereignty and extant corporate entity of our dear country Nigeria would not in any way be compromised or tampered with.”
