Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council defends its decision to back Buhari saying he is committed to Igbo cause

PAN-Igbo young people's association the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (ONYC) has defended its recent decision to support President Muhammadu Buhari saying that he is more committed to the cause of the southeast geo-political zone than his rival.

Last Saturday, President Buhari was re-elected for another four year term, defeating former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In the run-up to the election, the ONYC backed President Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that he was more committed to the Igbo cause than Alhaji Abubakar.

According to the group, it was reluctant to endorse any of the presidential candidates when many tribal and inter-tribal groups and influential individuals were adopting candidates as it believed endorsements never amounted to votes. However, ONYC said it carefully weighed the options which were in the best interest of the Igbo nation and then opted to back President Buhari.

ONYC president Okechukwu Isiguzoro who alleged that Alhaji Abubakar was dragged into the presidential race by the Northern Elders Forum to executive its clandestine agenda to foist its interest on the country, said zoning the vice presidential slot to the Ndigbo was used as bait to get the southeast’s support. He said Alhaji Abubakar's reluctance to declare his programmes for the zone before the presidential elections, was responsible for the ONYC not endorsing him, even when its leadership was under pressure to do so.

According to Mr Isiguzoro, the presidential contest was between two Fulani men and it was better to support the one whose tenure expired in four years than to back the one whose tenure might end in eight years time.  He said the group and the office of the secretary-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on February 14 vowed to return President Buhari because they believed he would hand over to an Igbo man in 2023.

Mr Isiguzoro said: “We were reluctant to endorse any presidential candidate then because we knew endorsement does mean more votes for the candidate. We were under pressure to adopt a particular candidate but we decided to weigh the options to see who had better offer for the Igbo nation.

“We called Atiku many times to tell us his genuine offer for the zone in his one-term agenda and whether he would handover to an Igbo man in 2023. He was reluctant to do so because he had a hidden script from the Northern Elders Forum, which we were sure, he would play out if he becomes the  president of this country.

"Their plan was to impose northern interests on the southeast and Nigeria as a whole and they started by using the office of the vice president as bait to Ndigbo.”