In an apparent move to solicit support for an Igbo president ahead of the 2023 general elections, the pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has started its negotiations with other regional leaders and stakeholders.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo has said it has set aside N10bn in support fund for the actualisation of Igbo presidency in 2023.
Leading a delegation, Secretary-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, met with the National President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Yerima Shettima, in Kaduna, in its bid to woo and support the presidential ambition of the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, for the 2023 Presidential race and get explicit support in the North.
The association said it has set aside N10bn in support fund for the actualisation of Igbo presidency in 2023.
He noted that Igbos in the diaspora have set aside a N10 billion fund to support any candidate of Igbo extraction in the 2023 presidential race.
Isiguzoro also remarked that the Igbo delegation had met with some religious clerics in the North over the presidential project, adding that the Igbos believe in dialogue and negotiation to produce the President from the South-Eastern extraction.
He said the Igbo delegation for the 2023 presidency would continue to lobby all parts of the country for the power shift to the South-East region.
According to him, the Igbo nation, including their kinsmen in Rivers and Delta States, have abundant human resources that can produce the best for the Presidency, and mentioned politicians like Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, Okorocha, Umahi, etc., as fit to succeed Buhari in 2023.
He however singled out Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and declared that they would support him to become President in 2023.
However, their host, Yerima Shettima, told the Igbo leaders that the Arewa Youth would go back to their elders and report to them about their visit and mission. The AYCF President told the Ohanaeze delegation that it was good to negotiate when seeking power.
He, however, cautioned that nobody achieved good things through threat.
