The youth wing of the Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide have declared that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State remains an Igbo son and would enjoy all rights and privileges.
On Thursday, Okowa was announced as Atiku’s running mate for the forthcoming 2023 presidential election for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In response to the choice of Atiku Abubakar, the Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro has said the PDP would not get votes from the South-East for not giving the position to someone from the area as expected of him.
However, in a statement on Friday, the OYC President-General, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike and the Secretary-General, Comrade Obinna Achionye distanced the youth organisation from the position of Isiguzoro.
They have reiterated that Okowa remains a son despite his affiliations with the vice presidential ticket.The Igbo youth group said, “Okowa is a true son of Igboland, a bonafide member of Ohanaeze; we cannot, therefore, rise against one of our own.
“A former President-General of Ohanaeze, Late Ambassador Ralph Uwechue is from the same area as Okowa. They are our brothers by every standard and we cannot ditch them now simply because of political exigency.”
Although noting that the people were not happy with the decision of the PDP for not bringing the vice presidential ticket to the area, the group asked: “Should we now throw away the baby with the bathwater? The answer is a capital ‘NO.”
“Having said this, we reiterate that Ndigbo are happy with his emergence as the vice-presidential candidate of the PDP and will accord him all the needed support.
“We urge Ndigbo to support him; we must be strategic this time and not put all our eggs in one basket,” the statement added.
