With Ohanaeze and the Igbo Elders Forum urging senior voices in the North, including the Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, to support their cause, the South-East region’s drive to deliver the next President in 2023 has gotten more exciting.
Although the meeting’s details were vague at the time of reporting this article, insiders indicated the goal was to strike an agreement with the Sultan so that he could speak to others about why the Igbos should provide the next President.
“We’re keeping an eye on the north; the Fulani aren’t giving up,” a source added. Power does not come easily; it must be earned.
We made contact with the Sultan of Sokoto and a few other people, and we met with him (Sultan). He has a lot of clout, and people in the north pay attention to him.”
The conference took place just days after the Coalition of Northern Groups called for the arrest of Chukwuemeka Ezeife, the former governor of Anambra State, and other Igbo elders for their support for an Igbo presidency.
The CNG’s spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, claimed the Igbo could not be trusted with the presidency in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ralph Uwazuruike, the head of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, is alleged to have stated to the leadership of the Igbo Elders Forum why he is backing Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State’s presidential bid in 2023 against an Igbo man.
Apart from Uwazuruike, a former governor of Abia State, Uzor Kalu, is alleged to have told Igbo elders what he said about the Igbo presidency and his support for Senate President Ahmad Lawan, for which he was labeled as a traitor by elder statesman and nationalist, Chief Edwin Clark.
“We see Orji Uzor Kalu as a black leg, and we’re building a channel of communication with him,” the insider stated.
He was asked to clarify himself, but he also stated that he was misquoted. We haven’t decided what to do with him, but we have decided that anyone who acts against the Igbo people’s collective interests will be severely punished.
