The Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have maintained that an Igbo presidency come 2023 is not negotiable.
The group made this known in a communique signed by its President and Secretary, Austin Chimezie and Ahaiwe Jonnieby.
Ohanaeze said Igbos would no longer play second-class citizens in the country, insisting that it should be their turn to produce the president in 2023.
The group said Igbos, like other major ethnic nationalities, played significant roles in the making of the Nigerian nation from pre and post-colonial periods and should take their pride of place in the scheme of things in the country.
”We encourage the Igbo in the North to make more friends for the Ndigbo as an important step for galvanising support for the Igbo man’s desire to produce the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the group said.
Ohanaeze also dissociated itself from calls for secession, saying the unity of the country was sacrosanct, even as it called for fairness and equity in the distribution of political offices.