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Why We've Not Decided On Choice Of Presidential Candidate — Ohanaeze Ndigbo Women

The women wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has revealed why it has not arrived at the choice of a presidential candidate to support in 2023, saying it would reveal its choice in coming days.

This is according to the leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo women wing, Chief Mrs. Rita Daniels Chukwuji during a press conference in Abuja on Friday.

She said the wing is understudying the top presidential candidates to ascertain who will be able to carry Ndigbo along in his policies. She was however quick to add that the wing will not accept or reject any candidate on the basis of ethnicity or religion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we make bold to say that Ohanaeze Ndigbo Women wing Worldwide under my leadership has not decided on which presidential candidate to back ahead of 2023. What is however very important to understand is, we will not support or reject any candidate on the basis of his/her region, religion of culture. We are all Nigerians and we believe in one destiny and the cord of unity that binds us together.

"Our cardinal concern is a presidential candidate who will carry Ndigbo and indeed Ohanaeze Women Wing along in his policies, activities and actions. This will be decided when we hear from them, to understand what they have for Ndigbo before we can decide who among them we the women wing can support. This will come with the collective decision of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, including the youth wing.

"We will not be stampeded into making a hasty decision at the moment but in coming days, we will make our position known to this effect" she told the conference.

While appealing to politicians to stop using young Nigerians as political thugs ahead of the 2023 general elections, Chief Mrs. Chukwuji insists that the politics of rancour must be discarded and should not have a place in the Nigerian environment.

"As mothers, we also want to urge the political actors to resist the temptation of using our children to feather their political nests by using them as thugs or use them to causes distability and truncate our relative peace.

"This will not be tolerated. We call for issue-based politics and an end to politics of brigandage and rancour. It profits no one, we therefore urge for peace."

She also appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to free the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu following the judgement of the Appeal Court in Abuja which discharged and acquitted him.

The organization also used the opportunity to unveil a renowned public relations practitioner, Alex Nwankwo as it special Media Executive.

The chairman/Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Air Peace, Chief Allen Onyema has lamented the poor treatment of Nigerian air passengers by foreign airlines, saying it is indefensible and as such must stop.

While reacting to allegations that local airlines are in support of government's decision to withhold ticket proceeds accrued to foreign airlines, Chief Onyema wondered why Nigerians have been paying more than any other country for commensurate miles compared to other nations, stressing that people in South Africa are paying less for nine hours trip than Nigerians pay for six hours trip.

While appearing before a committee of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Chief Onyema also accused foreign airlines of deliberately increasing their frequencies, a conduit they are using to milk Nigerians dry, yet they deny Nigerian airlines opportunity to fly in their own countries.

"They must collect their trapped funds in Nigeria but how do you explain that someone flying from South Africa nine hours to London is paying less than a Nigerian flying six hours?

"How do you explain that someone flying from London to Las Vegas even now is paying far less, half than what a Nigerian is paying for six hour?" he queried.

While stating that foreign airlines are also members of The International Air Transport Association (IATA), Chief Onyema called on AITA to apply force in persuading Nigerian airlines to freely operate in foreign countries at the capacity of a frequency they can afford without restriction and undue hindrances.

"AITA should use the same venom and force to tell these people that we are qualified. If Air Peace could do 14 hours non-stop flight to China, which we have started, six hours to London is a piece of cake but we are hitting brickwall now and then" he said.

He also recalled with regret how during the COVID-19 evacuation, Air Peace secured landing permit into Heathrow Airport to evacuate over 350 Nigerians, London authorities sent dogs into the aircraft, sniffing its pilots just to discourage the airline from evacuating Nigerian.

Most saddening part of the story according to him is that the authorities in London stopped the airline from conducting an assessment of its aircraft's safety standard as the practice demands before taking off back to Nigeria.

While expressing gratitude to God that nothing happened to the aircraft, he insists that the action violates safety.

He called on Nigerians to stop bad-mouthing the country in the media space in defence of foreign airline, saying it does not demonstrate patriotism.