One of the founding member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu who is also the Director General of Voice Of Nigeria has hailed the party’s northern governors and political leaders for strengthening Nigeria’s unity by endorsing power shift to the South.
He said by this singular uncommon patriotic gesture, and principled response to building nationhood, the APC governors and political leaders from the north had thoroughly shamed the leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who out of desperation for power attempted to harvest from ethno-religious fault lines in our polity.
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Okechukwu said by their unholy attempt to harvest from primordial sentiments, PDP had not only breached rotation convention in its constitution, but had wittingly or unwittingly dug their electoral grave in 2023 presidential election.
“It’s my considered view that the sophisticated northern voters, who voted for Chiefs MKO Abiola and Olusegun Obasanjo will in 2023 vote for APC presidential candidate and shame PDP,” Okechukwu retorted.
In a statement on Sunday, Okechukwu, who is also the Director General (DG) of Voice of Nigeria (VON), noted that the northern APC Governors and political leaders deserve commendation for ceding power to the south; hence hoisting Nigeria’s unity flag and advancing the frontiers of our democracy.
He contended that the decision to rightfully rotate power to the South, the northern leaders have upheld the progressive bent of APC and exposed the perfidy and opportunistic tendencies of PDP.
Okechukwu stated: “I am very elated. I commend APC Governors and political leaders of Northern belt for their profound patriotic statement, which aligns with the Mr President’s idea of consensus.
“By this singular decision, they have killed three birds with one stone.
“One, they hoisted the National Unity Flag by their position that it is the turn of the south to produce Nigeria’s President in 2023. This is about the loftiest way to fly the National Unity Flag at a critical time, when our dear country is highly polarised and in cliff-hanger.
“I must add that this is national healing balm and bridge-building pedigree of APC Governors and political leaders of the Northern belt, which they anchored on the doctrine of progressivism.”
The DG VON noted that the northern governors and political leaders from APC invoked the progressive philosophy of APC, by placing national interest above parochial interest.
Specifically, Okechukwu said the overall patriotic display by the leaders was captured in their statement, where the governors remarked that;
“After careful deliberation, we wish to state our firm conviction that after eight years in office of President Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC for the 2023 elections should be one of our teeming members from the southern states of Nigeria.
“It is a question of honour for the APC, an obligation that is not in anyway affected by the decisions taken by another political party. We affirm that upholding this principle is in the interest of building a stronger, more united and more progressive country.
“We, therefore, wish to strongly recommend to President Muhammadu Buhari that the search for a successor as the APC’s presidential candidate be limited to our compatriots from the southern states. We appeal to all aspirants from the northern states to withdraw in the national interest and allow only the aspirants from the south to proceed to the primaries,” he added.
Okechukwu noted that those words on the marble “represent new credo for APC in its march towards building on the foundation for national unity, stability, peace and prosperity, which has been laid by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
He described the action of northern APC governors and leaders as the most noble way to expose PDP for what it represents as not only a perfidious congregation of political unconscionable men, whose only interest and motto is – “Share the Money”.
He stated that: “Nigerians have now seen that the Dollar Rain, cash and carry primary that produced His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the PDP presidential candidate was a pyrrhic victory that has nothing in store for the new Nigerian of our dreams.
“I am inclined to believe that Atiku’s victory is pyrrhic going by Greek mythology, and may not lead to ultimate victory, especially with the patriotic stance of his northern brothers.
“Is it not paradoxical that the same Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who willingly defected from PDP to APC in 2014 on the pretext of protesting breach of zoning by ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and benefitted from the zoning convention in 2019 should deliberately deploy huge resources to breach the same zoning convention?”
Whilst congratulating the APC Northern Governors, political leaders and President Buhari for being true Nigerians, Okechukwu declared that Nigerians have seen the difference between those who want a better Nigeria “and CarpetBaggers who want to trade with the nation’s future.”