Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, to categorically state whether he will do just one tenure, to convince them that his six-year policy statement will not truncate the 2023 Igbo Presidency Project.
In a statement after a meeting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, yesterday, the secretary-general, Okwu Nnabuike, said that OYC had studied diligently the six-year plan of Atiku to make Nigeria work again, but insisted that the Wazirin Adamawa must state that he will only rule for four years, if elected.
He maintained that the South East and Igbo votes from the 36 states and Abuja would be the swing votes in the 2019 presidential election, a reality major contenders know.
“Election will take place in 2019 in the south east, and the governors should put their house in order to avoid the repeat of 2003 episode where opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD) governors agreed to vote for Olusegun Obasanjo and later lost their seats.
“As Igbo watchdogs, we believe that irrespective of our support for south east governors seeking second term, we will vote out any governor who betrays the Igbo interest and agenda, which will be decided by January 2019,” OYC stated.
Meanwhile, the primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, has appealed to Nigerians not to mortgage their future by selling their votes during the 2019 general elections.
He also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the elections are not only credible, free and fair, but also that the outcome reflects the people’s wish.
Addressing the youths of the church in Abuja, Okoh observed that the credibility of the forthcoming elections would depend on the integrity of INEC, security agencies and the courts.He told the youths not to allow themselves to be manipulated, but to stand for the whole country and not for sectional or group interest. (Guardian)
