₦airaland Forum

2023: Buhari's successsor should come from South East ― Edwin Clark

*Says no Igbo speaking person from Delta, Rivers should aspire
*Nigeria is in pains, agony, needs restoration of dignity of man, national healing ― Ohaneze President
*Says time to use South East against South East is Over
* Warns against use of violence, military to address Nigeria’s problems
*Calls for fairness, justice, equity and purposeful leadership

AHEAD of 2023 general elections, former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor should come from the South East geo-political zone of the country.

Clark has however described as abominable and condemnable if any Igbo speaking person from Delta and Rivers States aspires for the exalted position because such a person speaks Igbo, adding that no person from Oshimili South and North, Aniocha, Agbor or Ukwani should come out for presidency, but they should all join the South East to achieve it come 2023.

Speaking Sunday at his Asokoro residence, Abuja when he received the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo and some South East leaders led by the President General, Professor George Obiazor, the Elderstateman who is the National Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF said that the time has come for the South East region to produce the President of Nigeria and 2023 is the time.

The Ijaw leader who called for synergy, sacrifice among the people, said that the struggle may not be easy, but the region must reach out to other geo- Political Zones of the country in order to woo and engage them, just as he warned that the South East region must put its house in order, work in unison and as one indivisible zone.

Clark said, “the era we have reached now is that we have agreed to work together, how do we go on, how do we move on? I think that is the stage we have reached.

” I don’t belong to any political party, but I speak my mind. The man who brought politics into Nigeria was late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, I knew him when I was 20 years when he visited Warri, we trekked 12 miles to see him. Some of the problems we are having today in Delta was as a result of the support for Azikiwe and without that, we would not have gotten Midwest region that later became Bendel State and now Edo and Delta States. We are together, we are one.

“We are supporting the South East region. Anybody from Midwest, Oshimili South and North, Aniocha South and North, Ika, Agbor or Ukwani, if you say I am ready to be the President of Nigeria because I speak Igbo, that is punishable because when you do something that people don’t like, it abominable.

” I have said it, all the Igbos in Anioma, Rivers, in Delta, where ever they are, this is the time for Igbo, South East President. We have the same problem, when we went to the 2014 National Conference, we said that the South East has five states, they should be given additional states so that everyone will have same states like in other zones if that will stable Nigeria, create them.

“We want the President coming after Buhari to come from the South East, we are together.

” Let me advise, if you must fight a war or fight for anything at all, we must put our house in order. What do we do with other voices that are not in tandem with our voices? We must find a way to see what can be done, they have own point, but at the same time, they should also listen to us.”

Earlier in his remarks, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Professor George Obiazor who noted that Nigeria as a country was in serious agony and pains, said that the time has come for the restoration of the dignity of Man National Healing.

The Ohaneze President General who warned against the use of violence and military tactics to address the problems confronting the country said that they are used, the more factionalised the country would be and the more factionlalised we are, it would then lead to a synchronised national crisis and if not checked, could lead to inevitable disintegration.

Obiazor who noted the time has come for the South East and South-South to form a stronger synergy, said that the time when South East people could be used against South East was over, adding that one of them cannot be hated and you show love to the other.

According to Obiazor, this is not the time for people to claim that they love the South-South more than the South East Zone, just as he stressed that people can be fooled for a while and not forever, adding that what they are facing today is light at the end of the tunnel.

Obiazor who called for synergy among the people of both zones and other parts of the country, said, “today, what we need is to synergise among ourselves, the day we will do it, history will change. We all know that we have the same kind of problems.

“Honestly, you cannot hate one of us and like the other side. For people who tell us that they will like people in the South-South more than the South East or they will use one against the other, the time is over. You can fool people for some time, but not forever. What we are facing today is light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t know who does not believe in one course.

“The national question is the issue that requires a different kind of solution and resolution. The more you apply violence and military tactics to it, the more the country is factionalised, the more the country is factionalised, the more ethnic militia groups and eventually leads to what is called synchronised national crisis and the rest is history and inevitable disintegration.

“We should start doing something to address the problem. I urge the Federal Government to reconsider the use of force, I want the government to conspicuously impress the values of justice, equity and fairness as its true sense so that Nigeria will face clear ease of unity. It is time for the government and the people to start the process of healing. Nigeria is in agony and pains, it is time for national healing.

The President General of Ohaneze was accompanied during the visit by his Majesty, the Obi of Obinugwu, Imo State, Dr Cletus Ikechukwu Ilomuanya; Ohaneze Secrerary General, Chief Okey Emuchay; Senator Ben Obi; Chief Onyema Ugochukwu; Prof. A.B.C. Nwosu; Chief Dubem Onyia; Chief Guy Ikoku; Hon. Goddy Nwazurike, among others.

Also present to join Chief Clark in receiving the Ohaneze leaders were former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah; former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo; Senator Bassey Henshaw; Ambassador Godknows Igali, among others.

Calitoscassius:
If joshua don't like it he should go create his own youtube. how can he be preaching hate against gay people? He should cure people of covid first before curing gays.

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Dr. Halilu Shaba as the Director-General of the National Space Research and Development Agency.

The red chamber gave the approval following the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology at plenary in Abuja, chaired by Senator Uche Ekwunife.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, asked the Senate to confirm Shaba as DG NASRDA.

In the letter, Buhari urged the lawmakers to give his request an accelerated consideration.

Shaba had been in acting capacity as DG of the agency following the expiration of the two-term tenure of Professor Seidu Mohammed in June 2020.

The Agency had earlier, on July 2, 2019, announced the appointment of Mr Jonathan Angulu as an acting Director-General to facilitate a seamless transition process between the outgone DG and an incoming one.

Jonathan handed over to Shaba two days earlier to continue in an acting capacity until the appointment of a substantive DG for the agency by the Federal Government.

Before his appointment as an acting Director-General of NASRDA, Shaba served in various leadership capacities since joining the agency in 2009.

He had served as the Director of Strategic Space Applications, in which capacity he led the department’s policy initiations and execution within the national space programmes framework.

Shaba previously served as a Deputy Director at the National Emergency Management Agency between 2006 and 2009, before joining NASRDA.

shortgun:
This too should make front page

Even if there is no king in igbo land, igbo should learn to respect the Kings of other tribe and their culture.

North: We give you 14 days
West: We are tired of you
South South : we give you 7 days

This means you need to check your character, when you are in Calabar, you behave like them and respect their culture.

Happy Friday

EBONYI State Governor and Chairman, South-East Governors’ Forum, David Umahi, on Sunday, said governors of the region were currently hiding their faces in shame.

Umahi stated that the herdsmen they (South-East governors) fought hard to protect were the ones killing the people.

The governor made these remarks in Abakaliki, the state capital, when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo paid a condolence visit to the state on Sunday.

Umahi said, “Even when the killings happened; very unprovoked killings, some people said they gave the governor of Ebonyi State 21 days to resign. We have been called all kinds of names and we feel ashamed that the same people we fight for day and night as governors and leaders of South-East to ensure the oneness of this country would know about attacks on Ebonyi State and they were asked to leave and they left, and we were slaughtered and killed.

“What face do we have then to face our people? We feel so ashamed to face our people. When this thing happened, Your Excellency, there was going to be very violent retaliation. But I thank God for the leaders of this state. I thank God for CAN, the youths and traditional rulers.

“We immediately called for a stakeholders’ meeting and reached an agreement and said for the interest of this country, there would be no retaliation. But we are happy that you (Osinbajo) have a document that has been given to you.

“We are not saying it shouldn’t be investigated, but that document is information that came from the phone of the murderers and that’s what the community printed out and handed over to you. We demand a proper investigation.”

Umahi said three communities of Obeagu, Egedegede and Amaizu in the Ishielu Council area and the Effium community in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state, needed the sum of N5bn from the Federal Government to rebuild their homes and resettle.

Umahi added, “We demand that justice be given to the victims. This is the agreement and this is the promise I made to the people of Ebonyi State during our extra ordinary meeting on how to calm the situation.

“But it is also very annoying that herdsmen in other parts of the state are being asked to quit because they want to attack again. This is one attack that must not be attempted. This is because as the chief security officer, I’m to report to the Federal Government, I may not be able to control it.

“Let this madness stop. No one has the monopoly of violence, but we assure the Federal Government that there will be no retaliation, believing that justice will be done. This is because what was provided this afternoon by way of information is good enough to unravel what happened to us.

“We plead with the Federal Government to assist the people of Egedegede with the sum of N2bn so that they rebuild their homes and settle down.

“On the unfortunate killings in Effium community, we are equally pleading with the Federal Government to assist the people with the sum of N3bn, so that they can rebuild their homes.”

200 police, soldiers deployed in Ebonyi community

Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it had deployed 200 police and soldiers in the troubled Effium community in the Ohaukwu council area and the Egedegede, Obeagu and Nkaleha communities of Ishielu Local Government Area of the state to address the security crisis.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stated this on Sunday in Abakaliki and assured the people that justice would be served in the case of persons, who were recently killed by assailants in the Ishielu council area of the state.

He said, “There are times when incident like this happens, when people are killed and you feel particularly outraged about what has happened. Over 200 police and army men have been deployed to those communities. We’ll do all we can to bring justice to the people.”