Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Governor Rochas Okorocha has waved aside insinuations that he is in conflict with ministers and leaders from the Southeast zone.
Highlighting more on the speculations, governor Okorocha said that whatever he does in politics at the moment is borne out of his genuine concern for the future of the Igbo nation and how they can take their rightful position and play the expected role in nation-building and not focusing on quarrels with anybody.
The governor also asserted that President Muhammadu Buhari will win in the South-East in 2019 for his second tenure, adding that the Igbos have come to realize and appreciate the fact that the best politics they can play in 2019 is voting for Buhari.
Governor Okorocha stated this at the weekend at a dinner tagged “emerging leaders and aspirants in the South-East for Buhari,” at the Imo International Convention Centre (IICC) Owerri.
He further explained that he does not have any personal score to settle with any minister or leader from the South-East, but his interest at the moment is to ensure that the Igbos would never allow the political mistake of 2015 to repeat itself in 2019.
The governor also regretted that Igbo leaders prefer to live in Abuja and leaving the younger politicians with nobody to fall back on at home unlike their contemporaries in the North and West.
“On the home front, there is no goal keeper. All our leaders live in Abuja, even former governors. All our leaders are in Abuja and there is no one to fall back on at home unlike our contemporaries in the North and West. Muhammadu Buhari is the President but Shehu Shageri is in Sokoto. Ibrahim Babangida is in Minna, Abdulsalami Abubakar is also in Minna. Obasanjo is in ota, Ogun State. Bola Tinubu is in Lagos. They are goal keepers and elder statesmen to their younger ones and giving support to their future generation”
“But for us, our case is different. Our old politicians keep rocking back and front, usurping the political future of our younger generation. So, I am of the firm belief that we should have a new and virile Igbo nation so that the younger ones can begin to take their rightful positions. That’s what we mean by emerging leaders and not that you are not leaders in your own rights”, Governor Okorocha stated.
He stated further “The Igbos must change their style in politics. This is a period for us to have a rethink. I have seen the problem. It is possible that Igbos can get there, and because we are not together, it seems to be an uphill task. And there is no better time for Ndigbo to work with singleness of heart than now. We must destroy the fabrics of the Amalekites in Igboland”.
The governor equally stated that they would also engage Igbos in diaspora to bring them on the same page because what most of them post on the social media do not help the Igbo nation in any way and do not also help in answering the Igbo question in Nigeria.
He therefore charged all those who have ambition for elective positions in APC in the South-East to start coming out and should not withhold such ambition or aspiration for any reason, adding that APC won’t leave any stone unturned now in the South-East.
“We have made advanced preparations for the mega rallies for Buhari to go round the Eastern states beginning with Ebonyi State. We are poised to position our people for national politics. South East for Buhari is on rescue mission and we shall be in Ebony, Abia, Enugu and Anambra. We have come to correct history. By 2019, the Igbo history will be re-written”. Governor Okorocha said .