The apex Igbo socio-political organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential primaries, that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its 2023 presidential candidate, as corrupt and erratic.
Raye24reporter, earlier reports that Atiku defeated the likes of former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and other aspirants at the PDP primaries held in Abuja yesterday.
The former Vice President has been congratulated and celebrated by party stakeholders and supporters as he looks forward to becoming the Nigerian next president at the 2023 general elections.
Reacting, however, to Atiku’s victory, Ohanaeze in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday morning through its Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said the PDP presidential candidate will never become Nigeria’s president.
Ohanaeze rejected Atiku’s candidacy, alleging that his emergence as PDP’s candidate was a plot by unpatriotic Northerners against the Southern part of the country.
Isiguzoro stressed in the statement that the Igbo would rise up against Atiku, adding that his presidential campaign would be rejected in the South-East.
According to him, the nation’s main opposition party had been reduced to a Northern party.
The statement reads: “It’s amusing that PDP is now a Political party for the Northern region, with Dr. Iyocha Ayu as PDP chair, Walid Jubril as BOT Chair and Atiku Abubakar as 2023 PDP Presidential candidate.
“PDP has fulfilled her threats to sideline the Igbo in 2023 and we will carefully answer back to them.
“Another Northerner, Senator David Mark supervised the process that schemed out Igbo from PDP. The consequences of the 2022 PDP convention will be a discontinuity of milking of Igbo votes by a party that butchered the Igbo’s dream.
“We are waiting for the APC presidential primary to take the final decision on whether or not Igbos will participate in the 2023 elections.
“Atiku Abubakar will be opposed in the South-East, and no Igbo is anticipated to champion or project Atiku Presidency in the East. Nobody is going to take the risk of campaigning for Atiku in the East since the PDP is now a regional northern political party. Atiku will not have Igbo support him in 2023, he cannot be the President of Nigeria in 2023.
“Ndigbo will rise against PDP and Atiku Abubakar as a prize for PDP’s ingratitude and dishonesty against Igbo,” Ohanaeze added.