…Reveals How South-East Lost Chances Of Producing Presidential Candidate in 2003

…Insists North, Buhari, Always Ready To Support Credible South-Easterner for President

The National Coordinator of the South-East APC Presidency Project 2023, and Convener of the South-East APC Integrity Group, Chinedu Jideofo-Ogbuagu, has declared to take up the challenge of running for Presidency of Nigeria on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should no credible aspirant from the South-East region put himself forward by the end of January 2022.

Jideofo-Ogbuagu who narrated how South-East lost the chance to produce the presidential candidate of the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) in 2002-2003, said it was not true that the North is not in support of a President of Nigeria of South-East extraction.

He rather blamed the South East for selfish politics and for lacking courage when it mattered most, insisting that the North have always preferred a South Easterner “but it is South-Easterners themselves who have messed up in the past.”

Jideofo-Ogbuagu revealed that in 2002-2003, President Buhari was ready to support “a South-East candidate if he was convinced that the South-Easterner would not sell out on the party.”

In a statement personally signed by the APC stalwart, Jideofo-Ogbuagu noted that “Dr Basil Opara (Imo State APC), from the submissions of Chief Mbazulike Amaechi and I regarding poor mental attitude of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe (in 1978/79) and Dr Alex Ekwueme (1998/99 and 2002/2003), you concluded that “something is wrong with us (Ndi-South-East)”.

“My brother, nothing is wrong with all of us. But something is wrong with the South-Easterners with personal problems.

“Unfortunately, the South-Easterners with such personal problems have found politics attractive and have succeeded in it more than South-Easterners with pedigree and integrity.

“And the problematic South-Easterners have afflicted much of the South-East with their rather contagious personal problems.

“For South-East to come back into reckoning in Nigerian politics, the bad eggs of South-East politics must be edged out by South-East politicians with pedigree and integrity”, he stated.

Narrating how the South East lost the opportunity to produce the presidential candidate of the ANPP, Jideofo-Ogbuagu said “Another experience I left out in my earlier narration was in 2002/2003 when five of us from the South-East contested in the presidential primary on ANPP platform – Edwin Umezuoke, Chuba Okadigbo, Nnia Nwodo, Rochas Okorocha and me. I was chairman of the presidential aspirants committee.

“Of the 14 presidential aspirants on ANPP platform that year, 7 were from the North, 7 from the South (5 from SE, one from SW and one from SS).

“Umaru Shinkafi called me one evening a week to the primary and informed me that 6 presidential aspirants from the North didn’t want Buhari – as most Northern elite never wanted Buhari, anyway.

“For the 6 to succeed in defeating Buhari, Shinkafi requested that I used my position as chairman for the South-East aspirants to settle for one of us and the 6 from the North would give him one of them as running mate”, he disclosed.

Jideofo-Ogbuagu further revealed that he summoned a meeting of the 5 aspirants from the South-East four days to primary, which held at Chief Umezuoke’s Asokoro, Abuja residence, where he “strove at that meeting for us to pick one of us.”

According to him, “I led by example by stepping down, Umezuoke also stepped down. Unknown to us, Okadigbo had gone into negotiation with Buhari but didn’t tell us even at that meeting.

“However, if between Nwodo and Rochas, one had stepped down, Okadigbo’s hidden scheming would have come to nothing. There was a general agreement among the other aspirants that Okadigbo was too young in ANPP, having just left PDP and Senate Presidency; even his very late declaration wasn’t convincing.

“Nwodo stood up and after thanking me and Umezuoke for our “noble decision”, turned to Rochas. Without mincing words, he told Rochas that he was the only one of us with the financial muscle for presidential campaign funding, but that he did not have a good name/image.

“Nwodo concluded his speech by suggesting that Rochas should help in funding the campaign with another person with a good name/image as candidate. I then proposed that we should agree on who would become what if we agreed on one person and later won the election.

“In response, Rochas said that he would not use his money for another person, that we should all go to primary individually if he was not chosen.

“I pleaded and pleaded for 2 other SE aspirants to step down that night, given the deadline I had been given of the very next day, but no one else stepped down. When I called Shinkafi in the morning to give him the bad news, he was very disappointed.

“He now told me that the 6 aspirants from the North would have to give in to pressures from ANPP governors (all Northerners) to step down for Buhari, whose talakawa supporters they needed in their re-election bid”, the APC chieftain further revealed.

How Rochas Okorocha Stood In Way?

On what looked like a total sell out, he said “Rochas and Nwodo who would rather go to primary and lose joined Harry Akande (South-West) and Perry Ajuwa (South-South) to walk out on the presidential primary convention at Eagle Square.

“Unfortunately, Umezuoke joined them in that walkout. But Okadigbo and I didn’t walk out. Okadigbo became running mate and I became special campaign adviser with promise of Foreign Affairs Minister if we had won.

“So, contrary to what ignorant South-Easterners say, the North have always preferred a South-Easterner to lead, but it is South-Easterners themselves who have messed up in the past.

“Even Buhari told me in 2002 that he would support a South-East candidate if he was convinced that the South-Easterner would not sell out on the party”, Jideofo-Ogbuagu said.

What is Playing Out Now In South-East APC

He then insisted that “What is playing out now in South-East APC is that those that people are looking up to declare for President are the sort of persons who would sell out or chicken out, and they are afraid of the consequences of such action.

“I think we have warned would-be sell-outs of what would befall them if and when they did.

“If South-East APC Integrity Group/South-East APC Presidency Project 2023 had been available for business as usual, the would-be traitors would have “declared” by now.

“But we need a South-Easterner of pedigree and integrity to project on APC platform. If you are eligible, do not be like Zik or Ekwueme without courage, and don’t be like any of the would-be sellouts who are afraid of severe consequences for their treachery.

“Summon the courage needed to take power. Deadline for your declaration is January 2022. After January 2022, forget it. I will take up the challenge. And we shall win”, the South-East APC leader said.

Source: StreetReporters.ng