Yoruba Wakeup!!!! Lagos 2015: PDP’s agenda to field Igbo Deputy Governor as a result of Igbo inflated population figure. Lagos State is in the process of electing its first Deputy Governor of Igbo extraction as the race to succeed incumbent Governor Babatunde Fashola, becomes more intriguing within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.. The agitation by some Igbo leaders in the state for fairer representation in the governance of the state given their huge numbers appears to be receiving the attention of the PDP top command. Sources disclosed that the party is considering nominating a candidate from the South-East geopolitical zone as the deputy governor choice in the 2015 polls. It was revealed that some key PDP stakeholders who are supporters of the current frontrunner, Mr. Jimi Agbaje met with President Goodluck Jonathan to drum up support for Agbaje as the PDP candidate, with a proviso that an Igbo would be picked as the party’s deputy governor. Based on this, a small group from the Igbo business community has been raising funds to mobilize people of Igbo extraction in the PDP in Lagos State and also to assist the party since the deputy governorship slot would be given to the Igbo. The fact remains that there has been consistent and persistent agitations by the Igbo in the state to have a share in the scheme of things in the state, in terms of elective and appointive positions which would reflect the significant high population of the people in the state. Although, in the ruling APC government, and even in the party’s state structure, there are at least two Igbo who occupy sensitive positions; the current Commissioner of Budget and Planning, Chief Ben Akabueze and the Lagos APC spokesperson, Chief Joe Igbokwe are believed to be representatives of the Igbo in the government and party. Hence they are seen as the rallying point for the Igbo in the state. Meanwhile, some other leaders of the Igbo in the state have consistently criticized the appointment of these two Igbo men in the APC government. Among those who have criticized it is the South-East leader of Lagos PDP, Anslem Njoku, who argued that the duo of Akabueze and Igbokwe are not true sons and representatives of Igbo in Lagos. He stressed that the two of them have never carried themselves as Igbo indigenes or even championed the Igbo cause in Lagos. Njoku made reference to the deportation saga during which the Lagos State government deported some Igbo in Lagos to Onitsha Bridge head, while Akabueze and Igbokwe defended the action against their brothers. He said that none of them could caution the state government on the policy that affects their people. He argued further that both of them don’t attend the Ohanaeze Ndigbo meetings that are attended by sons and daughters of Igbo in Lagos, pointing out that it shows they don’t care about what is happening to their folks in the state. “It is like we are in bondage which is too bad. What I am talking about is that if you say there are some Igbo people in APC, yes there are like two of them that I know, Chief Akabueze who is a commissioner and Igbokwe also in that government. But what I want you to know is that these people are not true Igbo people because the true Igbo man is a man who believes in self-help, communal effort, it is through communal effort that the Igbo people built schools and handed them over to government”, Njoku adds. “We do all things through our town unions and socio-cultural organisations like Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Igbo Speaking Community, and others but these people do not belong to their town union, they don’t belong to Igbo socio-cultural organisations through which we raise money for all that we do. So any true Igbo man must belong to these groups because it is through these organisations that we assist ourselves. Like we have our Igbo day last year, Igbokwe and Akabueze were not there “, he discloses. “The issue is that Lagos PDP is considerate. I cannot say whether an Igbo person would be the Deputy Governorship candidate, but I know that with the activities of the Igbo and their population, when it is time for nomination if the Igbo make a case for that PDP will give them a fair hearing, who knows it may be possible”, said Njoku. In the continuous agitation by the leaders of the Igbo extraction in Lagos, Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Amuwo Odofin Local government, in one of their press conferences, argued that the Igbo is ready to support any political party that would cede some elective positions to them. He noted that the Igbo have always been used to gain power in the state by the political parties. The Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the local government, Emmanuel Akalika, argued that with the number of Igbo in the state, and particularly in Amuwo Odofin, Igbo men and women should be at the helms of affairs. A source in the Lagos PDP told Hallmark that the PDP does not want to joke with the population of the Igbo in Lagos during the 2015 governorship election, adding that the ruling APC had always used that to their advantage in all the elections that have been held in the state . The Lagos State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Barr Gani Tafeek, declined to make comments when Hallmark contacted him through phone. He said there is “no comment for now” on the issue. Political analysts argued that it would be very hard to sell the idea of an Igbo Deputy Governor to the traditional rulers in the state who are all Yoruba indigenes. They stated further that if the PDP succeeds to pick an Igbo candidate as Deputy Governor and is able to mobilise the majority of the Igbo indigenes to back the agenda, it will give the ruling APC a run for its money. He further said that the failure would destroy the influence of the party in the state even after 2015 general elections as the party would be totally seen as anti-Yoruba party. by OKUNADE ADEKUNLE
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 10:18:43 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015