Maduako Igbokwe, Onitsha
ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria – One of the aspirants to the office of President of the country from the South East, Dr. Solomon Uchenna Wining, has appealed to Nigerians to support the call for President Mohammadu Buhari’s successor to come from the Igbo extraction.
Wining, in a statement by his media person Nze Nweke Nweke said that an average Igboman is truly faithful to the ideals of national unity and integration and must be given a chance .
According to him, because of the Ndigbo believe in national unity and integration they are found in every part of country doing business.
” Igbo remain the only tribe in the country that can be found in every part of the Nation, living peacefully with the people and developing such areas. They live in any area and develop it like they are indigene of areas, where they found themselves” he said
Wining also argued that the only way to end agitations in all quarters is to give every ethnic group in the country, a sense of belonging.
Tracing the leadership of Nigeria from 1999- to date, Wining who is a known cleric and politician, said, that General Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Mathew Obasanjo(Rtd) (from South West) was sworn in on May 29, 1999, as democratically elected president while his tenure lasted till May 29, 2007.
He said that General Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Mathew Obasanjo(Rtd) was “brought on board as compensation for the injustice done , late Chief MKO Abiola, a Yoruba, whose June 12, 1993, mandate was annulled by the Military government of President Ibrahim Babangida.
According to him, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was succeeded by Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from the Northern part of the country and reigned from May 29, 2007, to May 5, 2010.
“Following the demise of Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan succeeded him, as stipulated by the Constitution of the land and he assumed the office of the President on May 6, 2010, and his tenure ended on May 29, 2015. Thereafter, President Muhammadu Buhari assumed the mantle of leadership of the Country on May 29, 2015, and his tenure will end on May 29, 2023.
“While Ndigbo that are regarded as the major stakeholders in Nigeria, were heading up to succeed Chief Obasanjo after his eight years rule, many, not only prominent but qualified Igbo sons and daughters lined up as presidential materials, but the North kept them behind and produced Musa Yar’Adua as Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s successor thereby ‘raising serious moral questions about the place of the Igbo in the power equation.
“Today, as the quest for the successor of President Muhammadu Buhari gathers momentum , some old fashioned politicians in the other geopolitical zones who are ganging up against the popular clamour for a Nigeria president of Igbo extraction should see a reason to support all moves being made by Ndigbo to produce the nation’s next president” he said .
Wining maintained that his intention to vie for the position of president of the country was to unite and move the country forward.
“This nation needs a man with fear of God, love for mankind, and above all, a person with the will and capacity to fix Nigeria, adding that he is the right man now to move Nigeria in the desired direction”; he concluded.
