Consider Ndigbo For Appointments, Obiano, Groups Beg Buhari

Anambra State Governor, Willy Obiano, has urged the
President-elect, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari (retd), to appoint Igbo into prominent
positions while forming his cabinet.

He said the forthcoming Buhari’s administration would
require the support of all Nigerians irrespective of their party affiliations
to success.

Obiano spoke after a closed-door meeting with the
President-elect at his private residence in Abuja on Friday.

The governor said he was in Abuja not only to congratulate
the President-elect and reassure him of the support of the South-East, but also
to plead with him to consider Anambra indigenes for appointments.

Obiano said, “I am also here to reassure him that Anambra
and the South-East would support him. I also pleaded with him on some pressing
problems that are of importance to the South-East like the second Niger bridge
and some of the federal roads.

“We also pleaded in the area of appointment for the people
of Anambra and of course, for people from the South-East be it ministerial,
ambassadorial and what have you.”

The governor, however, dismissed insinuation that his visit
was part of consultations to pave way for him to defect to the All Progressives
party.

Similarly, a coalition of Igbo groups demanded that the
position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives should be zoned to the
South-East in the next political dispensation.

The groups are Igbo Youth Vanguard, Abia Democratic
Initiative, Imo Professionals for Democracy, United Igbo Traders Association
and South East Students Unions.

In a statement signed by their leader, Mr. Chikezie Emezuo
and Coordinator of the Imo Professional for Democracy, the groups explained
that it was against the principle of federal character and national justice for
the North to keep the Presidency, the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives positions.

Stressing that any move to marginalise Ndigbo will not be
accepted, the groups decried a purported zoning formula where the South-East
could be schemed out of the leadership of the national legislature.

They expressed regret that the Igbo were being reminded that
they were defeated and be treated as second class citizens at a time the
negative effect of the civil war was wearing out.

They said it would be wrong for the Igbo to be denied top
positions in the National Assembly because majority of them voted for the
Peoples Democratic Party in the last general elections.

Punch