The Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, has criticized former Abia State governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu for lending support to Senator Ahmed Lawan’s quest for the presidency of the country in 2023.
The council accused the former governor of betraying the Igbo cause by his action.
The National President of the OYC, Igboayaka O. Igboayaka said in a statement that the council regretted paying a solidarity visit to Kalu when he was clamped in Kuje Prison for allegedly fleecing the Abia State treasury while he was governor.
Igboayaka stated that the council would not have embarked on the visit had it known that Kalu would later sabotage the quest of the Igbo to produce the next Nigerian president.
He challenged Kalu to summon a meeting in an open space in Aba, Abia State to brief the people on his reason for spurning the Igbo quest for presidency in favour of Lawan who is from the North East zone.
Igboayaka described Kalu’s support for the North East as selfish on the ground that he intends to get reelected into the Senate to become president of the Senate.
According to Igboayaka, if Kalu had seen he lacked the capacity to gun for the president, he should have thrown his support to other aspirants of Igbo extraction such as Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who is contesting on the platform of his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
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Igboayaka told Kalu that he won’t have any safe place in Igboland to campaign to achieve his selfish Senate election if Southeast is denied presidential tickets by the APC and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The OYC boss demanded that Kalu tends an apology to the council for the pains and cost of paying him a solidarity visit at Kuje prison.
He reiterated the stance of the council on a rotational presidency in the spirit of fairness, justice and equity.
Igboayaka said; “It’s obvious that Orji Uzor Kalu’s statement against Southeast presidential project is a show of shame, timidity, cowardice and political profiteering.
“Time has gone when some Igbo political elites speak for Ndigbo. The new generation of Igbo wouldn’t tolerate such comment from Orji Uzor Kalu and his likes.
“Therefore, the decision of what Ndigbo want will be determined by Igbo youths numbering over fifty million.
“I challenge Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu if he is man enough to call a meeting in an open field in Aba, and tell us that he will support Sen. Alhmed Lawan”.
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