An apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo is  partnering with the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), politicians, religious and traditional rulers and over 80 several other organisations in Igboland as the 2023 politicking begins to gather momentum to produce the next president of the country.

Recall that CEOAFRICA reported that Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Sunday backed the demand for someone from the South to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.

El-Rufai’s comment followed last month’s controversy sparked by the President’s cousin, Mamman Daura, who said the next President could come from any part of the country.

 Yesterday, Ohanaeze Ndigbo stated that it was working alongside IPOB and others to achieve the collective agenda of the Igbo in Nigeria to produce the next president of the country.

Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Anambra State chapter, Damian Okeke-Okeke, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Awka, the Anambra State capital, said Ohanaeze and IPOB have resolved all differences between them and are presently working as ‘father and son’ to achieve the collective good of the Igbo.

He said the Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by Nnia Nwodo was assiduously working to make sure that the Igbo produced the next president of Nigeria.

He said IPOB was agitating for independence of Biafra because of failure of Nigeria to recognize them, while Ohanaeze was agitating for the president of Nigeria because other tribes in the country had ruled Nigeria apart from the Igbo.

Okeke-Okeke said even when Ohanaeze was asking for presidency of Nigeria, and IPOB was agitating for a sovereign state of Biafra, they were acting for same purpose of fair share for the Igbo in Nigeria.

He also said the leadership of Ohanaeze under Nnia Nwodo was given the mandate to negotiate the Igbo interest and not seek for sovereign state, adding that the youths were asking for sovereign state of Biafra because they think the Nigerian state is not giving them what is due to them.

“If the other tribes will allow the Igbo man to become the president, the agitation will die down. We are asking Nigerians to give us what rightly belong to us, other tribes have led this country and it is only the Igbo tribe that has not been given the opportunity,” he said

Meanwhile, an Igbo socio-cultural youth organisation, Igbo Youth Assembly (IYA) Worldwide, has called on the various Igbo groups clamouring for secession from Nigeria to stop their agitation and promote national unity and peace.

President-general of the group, Ifeanyi Nwaudunna and secretary- general, Casmir Irekamba, after their virtual general assembly, in a statement, maintained that “Nigeria as a nation and country is better united and remains as one indivisible entity.

“If divided or disintegrated it will lose its glory of diversity, economic, political-military- numerical-technical power and strength.

“There is no part in Nigeria, no matter how remote that you will not see an Igbo entrepreneur doing well in business with acquired landed property. So, on what basis will any well-meaning Igbo man or woman call for secession and disintegration of Nigeria,” they said.

Meanwhile a legal luminary, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), backed El-Rufai’s suggestion that the South should produce the next President.

He said the governor spoke the mind of Ndigbo, adding that it will lead to equity if realised.

Ahamba said the next President should specifically come from the Southeast.

He told CEOAFRICA source that “Reasonable people in the North are all agreeing that the President should go to the South in the interest of peace and nobody can say the South cannot produce a competent person. The search must begin from the Southeast.

“So, if a majority of the people said it should go to the South, it now behoves the Southeast to produce competent people to present to Nigeria.

“I agree with El-Rufai and support Daura that whoever emerges must be a competent person. We have them in surplus in the Southeast.

“We want somebody who has a good reputation so far in public life. It is not time for moneybags. Competence is the primary things.”