By Praise Chinecherem
Igboezue International Association Nigeria and the Diaspora (IIAND), has warned the Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. Dave Umahi, to desist from making negative utterances against the Presidential Candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi.
Addressing newsmen in Onitsha on Friday, the National President of the pan Igbo socio-political pressure group, Chief Pius Okoye said actions and utterances of Governor Umahi, from the time Mr Obi was picked by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s Vice Presidential Candidate in 2019 Presidential election till date, smacks of act of jealousy and sabotage. He urged him to retrace his steps to avoid the wrath of Ndigbo.
According to Chief Okoye, “We are surprise about some of the utterances attributed to Dave Umahi, and we wonder what he has against Mr Obi’s ambition from the time he contested under PDP, as Vice presidential in 2019 election and now he has clinched the Labour Party, LP’s ticket yo contest for the president of Nigeria, and we discovered that he is being jealous.
“We wonder where it is Mr. Obi that pushed him out of PDP to join APC, where was disgraced and could not gather at least ten votes like other aspirants, he should vent his spleen for a presidential disgraceful outing ambition on his party and not on Mr Obi or on any Igbo leader or group. His party simply told he that he is not relevant and he should not transfer the aggression on Mr. Obi or Igbo leaders, particularly when delegates from his state could not even vote him in that his party primary.
“If Umahi does not support Mr Obi, he should keep it to himself and stop attacking Obi, his claim that Ebonyi people cannot vote dir Mr. Obi and Labour Party is childish because it is the same people that did not vote him in his party’s presidential primaries that he is speaking for, and with his own election, they have told him that he is on his own and speaking for himself.
The group also urged Ndigbo in Nigeria and the Diaspora to return, register and their Personal Voters Card, PVC, to be able to vote massively for Mr. Peter Obi in the forthcoming presidential election saying that he is the only party candidate that has solution to the problem of Nigeria now.
“We will work for, support and vote for Mr Peter Obi. We urge every sensible Igbo man and woman and youths to go and get their PVC and prepare to vote massively for Mr Peter Obi. This is the only opportunity Ndigbo have after PDP and APC have dashed their chances of producing Nigeria President of Igbo extraction.
The group also urged Nigerians irrespective of ethnic, religious, cultural and social affiliation to support and vote for Mr. Obi whom they said has showed his capability, capacity and administrative acumen in governing Anambra State, adding that if given a chance he will do better for Nigeria as a country.
“Ndigbo home and abroad should come out enemas, physically and spiritually, support financially and otherwise to ensure that Mr. Obi who is working so hard and making friends from outside Igbo land becomes the next president of Nigeria, he has all it take to make a good leader.
“It is the turn of Ndigbo to produce the next president of Nigeria, and Nigerians should support it because if not Ndigbo, there will be nothing like Nigeria. Ndigbo is the reason we still have Nigeria and If they want Nigeria to continue to exist Ndigbo should not be delegated to the back door, if the want Nigeria to be retrieved from it’s present sorry state, Peter Obi’s election as president is the answer. And we must thank the supporters of this “Project Obi” from across the country because they are making a wise choice.
“We are not surprise about some Igbo’s who will work to sabotage Obi’s ambition, every ethnic groups have their like and Igbo land will not be an exception, all we are telling them is that where the evidence is clear that a star who will change Nigeria for good has come out, they should hide their face and follow the path to victory instead of fighting a lost battle.”
