The occasion was the South-East PDP rally, which was tagged the ‘Unity Rally.’ The three PDP governors in the zone, Theodore Orji (Abia), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi) and Sullivan Chime (Enugu), publicly announced that the South-East zone would support President Goodluck Jonathan if he chose to run for second term.
At the event, the governors, one after the other, stated why Jonathan should vie for a second term. The reasons ranged from his appointment of Igbo people to sensitive positions in his government, the commencement of the construction of a second Niger Bridge, the upgrade of the Enugu airport to an international one, and the appointment of the first Igbo man as a Chief of Army Staff. They also pointed out benefits that might accrue to the Igbo from a Jonathan presidency, among other reasons.
Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, who is also the Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, had said, “If you (Jonathan) say no, this zone will conscript you to run for 2015. You must contest. You have shown us that you can use power for the good of the people and the entire nation. We in the South-East have resolved to stand solidly behind you and the PDP because it is only in the PDP that the South-East can find shelter.”
On his part, Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State said, “Several meetings had been held within the party in the South-East and it is our collective decision to make two requests to the President. One is that Jonathan should run for a second term in office; and two, that he should not disappoint the people of the South-East by rejecting the call to run.”
Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State wasn’t any different. He continuously drummed up support for Jonathan. It was the same situation when the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, spoke.
But despite the litany of reasons advanced by the South-East PDP governors, their comments that the Ndigbo are in support of his candidature for 2015 have angered not a few. Some people and groups have found fault in their declaration. They argue that the governors could only speak for themselves and their stooges, and not for the entire Igbo nation.
The dissenting voices in the South-East were led by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council.
Members of the OYC told reporters that though they respected Governor Orji of Abia State and appreciated his contribution to the development of the Ndigbo and Igbo youths, but that they believed Jonathan had not done enough to merit a second term. They also said the President had yet to convince Igbo youths to vote for him in 2015.
“We see no reason why the governors should be promising him votes of the Ndigbo, whereas the bulk of the electorate in Igbo land are the youth, led by OYC, and who would definitely determine where the ball swings,” the National Organising Secretary, OYC, Mr. Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said.
He added, “Governor Theodore Orji has done enough to make the South-East peaceful for Jonathan but he shouldn’t take that for granted. He should set up a South-East Development Commission that would tackle kidnapping, armed robbery and other vices in the zone. That is the only condition that will make us support him in 2015. Anything short of that, he should kiss votes from the South-East goodbye because the governors can’t determine who will vote for him.”
Isiguzoro’s argument was based on the incessant crime cases that recently returned to Enugu and Anambra – two frontline states in the South-East region.
The Biafra Zionist Movement shared the same view as with OYC. Declining to have their names in print, the BZM leaders said they were convinced the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration had not favoured the Igbo.
One of the BZM leaders said, “We have about one million of our members scattered in the South-East and other parts of the country, so we wonder where and how the governors intend to give it to Jonathan, if not through rigging. But we would frustrate their rigging machinery.
“We would even prefer someone that is entirely from a different region but that would be genuinely dedicated to the cause of Igbo people and Nigerians in general, and not someone who only upgrades an airport or decides to construct a second Niger Bridge because he is forced to do so.”
Since the comments of the South-East governors, the All Progressives Congress, which was condemned by President Jonathan, has fired back. It reacted through its spokesperson in the South-East zone, Mr. Osita Okechukwu.
He said, “Permit me to opine that the South-East governors are on their own. Can the Ndigbo expect a different outcome from the same President with the nebulous Transformation Agenda? No, definitely, we are hard working people, not patronising people.”
Okechukwu also said, “How can we vote for a President that uses us to trade, as evidenced in the second Niger Bridge, a contract awarded by the then president, Olusegun Obasanjo, to Gitto at N55bn in 2009 and Jonathan to Julius Berger at N117bn in 2014? In that 2009 bid, Berger bid for the same design, same contract for N41bn.”
The All Progressives Grand Alliance, perceived as an Igbo party, said it would only support Jonathan in principle.
The APGA National Chairman, Mr. Maxi Okwu, said the party’s ‘in principle’ doctrine was based on the premise that the party might not produce a presidential candidate for the 2015 presidential election, and might be forced to support Jonathan, whom members perceive could win again.
Okwu said, “In a stage fight between Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who seems on the home run to clinch the PDP ticket, and whoever is likely to be the APC candidate, we are inclined to lean towards Jonathan.
“We supported him in 2011 and there has been no facts that there would be a change. Subject to confirmation by a national convention that would take place towards the end of the year, we would back him if he got the PDP ticket.”
Despite the dissenting voices, an Enugu resident conversant with Igbo politics and a public affairs analyst, Mr. Chukwunonye Okereke, thinks otherwise and stated that a sizeable percentage of Igbo people will vote Jonathan in 2015.
“Igbos are definitely going to vote Jonathan on a number of positive factors, especially considering that he has made business for them easy with the construction of an international airport and the ongoing construction of a second Niger Bridge that would definitely lead to the Onitsha seaport,” said Okereke.
