- APC and PDP are said to be fighting hard to control southeast ahead of 2019 general elections
- PDP controlled the southeast in 2011 but the APC is said to be gaining ground in the zone
- The APC leaders and member in the zone have been insisting that the easy way for the zone to produce president in 2023 is by supporting Buhari in 2019
As the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spoil for a major electoral offensive next year, the southeast geopolitical zone appears to be in a bit dilemma.
Guardian reports that the setting is quite unlike in 2011 and 2015 general elections, when the zone gave former president Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP, 4,985, 246 and 2,464,906 votes respectively.
NAIJ.com gathered that in the buildup to the 2019 elections, there have been discordant tunes, suggesting a lack of synergy among the leading groups in the zone.
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It was gathered that while the leadership of the umbrella socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, is insisting on the restructuring of the country, the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) is agitating for the declaration of Biafra Republic through a referendum.
The leadership of Ohanaeze Youth Council Worldwide had said that Igbo presidency 2023 is not negotiable.
At its meeting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state capital recently, the group threatened that any attempt at denying Ndigbo the presidency come 2023 will spell doom for the nation.
In a statement issued at the end of the meeting by the secretary general, Okwu Nnabuike and deputy national public relations officer, Ado Osaka, the group stressed that 2023 Igbo presidency was not negotiable, adding that handing over power to Ndigbo was for justice, equity and fairness to reign in Nigeriaís political arena.
According to the newspaper, the APC leaders and member in the zone have been insisting that the easy way for the zone to produce president in 2023 is by supporting Buhari in 2019.
Their position was supported by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, who said at a rally in Owerri, Imo state capital that 2019 would determine the future of the Igbo people and APC would support the region when the need arises.
He said that the southeast people have the right to govern Nigeria because they are part and parcel of the nation.
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that former governor of Abia state, Orji Kalu, said that President Muhammadu Buhari will win over 75 percent of votes in the south-eastern part of Nigeria in 2019, as a reward for the landmark projects executed in the zone.
Kalu said this on Thursday, August 2, at an expanded meeting of the executive members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the ward, local government and state levels in Igbere, Bende local government area of Abia.
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Source: Naija.ng