Television Nigerian

On Thursday, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja.

The governor took questions from journalists at the statehouse after his meeting with the president, explaining why an Igbo person should be considered for president by 2023.

Ikpeazu claimed that Igbos are pan-Nigerians who live and invest across the country, and that they are more knowledgeable about the country than people from other parts of the country.

He did, however, point out that the Igbo presidency in 2023 is not a matter of right, but rather something that should be accomplished through negotiations and discussions.

The governor of Abia has also stated that he will not run for president in 2023. He claimed that such ambition would betray his people.

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“I’m not interested in running for president.” I’m very busy as governor, and thinking about what I’ll become now would be a betrayal of my constituents, who gave me a four-year mandate, which was renewed for another four years and will expire in May 2023.

“It will be self-serving for me to start thinking about what I will become instead of concentrating on serving my people for the time they elected me in 2021.”

“Perhaps after 2023, I’ll start thinking about what I’ll do next.”

“Having said that, I believe that the people of the south have a legitimate claim to the presidency of Nigeria, and I dare say that our qualification stems from the fact that we understand and know Nigeria better than the rest of the country.”

“I dare to say, this is my point of view.” We travel everywhere, we live everywhere, we invest everywhere; we are Nigerians.

“On a lighter note, many people today are afraid of Sambisa. Sambisa, on the other hand, is a business opportunity for an Igbo man.

“It would be preposterous of me not to join that chorus.”

“However, the question of a president of southeast extraction for Nigeria is a national issue that requires negotiation, discussion, and conversation with all parts of the country, and I am the least qualified to judge what happened in 2023.”

“While we wait for the events to unfold, I also want to spend my time encouraging the incumbent president to take his time and do his best.” So there you have it. These are my thoughts on the presidency.”

On Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari held a meeting with former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Jonathan, who arrived at the Villa around 3:00 p.m., was ushered into a closed-door meeting by the President.

Although the meeting’s details are unknown, it is likely related to his work as Special Envoy of the Economic Community of West African States, where he is leading mediation talks even though Mali remains under military rule following President Ibrahim Keita’s ouster in August 2020.

Mali’s military-dominated government launched a four-day national forum on returning the country to civilian rule on Monday, December 27.

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According to Colonel Assimi Goita, Mali’s interim president, the forum “will make an unflinching assessment of the state of the nation and draw the best lessons from it.”
Jonathan, who is also a member of the West African Elders Forum, was in The Gambia three weeks ago to prevent election-related crises before the country’s presidential election on December 4, 2021.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Committee of Chairmen in Diaspora (Europe) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and allow the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee conduct the party’s national convention as well as presidential primary.

According to the group, the committee has followed international best practices and this must be adopted in charting the way forward for the APC ahead of the next general elections.

The APC committee chairmen in Europe made this known in a statement today in Sweden co-signed by its President, Dr. Maxwell Okolo and Secretary, Margrette Mark.

“The All Progressives Congress (APC) Committee of Chairmen in Diaspora (Europe), having reviewed recent developments in the party, has called for the adoption of international best practices in charting the way forward for the APC at this crucial time with the General Elections around the corner,” the statement said.

“We have keenly monitored the subversive efforts by persons that do not mean well for the party; these are the vested interests that have been creating the impression that our great party is irretrievably mired in crisis when the reverse is the case. These are also the ones that have not done much to encourage the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee not to end its mandates until it has finished its assignment.

“Available indices prove that the Caretaker Committee, ably led by Governor Mai Mala Buni, has exceeded expectations in stabilizing the party and reconciling identified factions in the various state chapters. The Committee is also on the way to delivering what could turn out to be the best National Convention our great party has ever had, provided it does not rush to conclude its assignment.

“Since we have noticed that the Committee is keen on concluding and handing over to an elected Executive Committee, APC Committee of Chairmen (Europe) has found it pertinent to urgently appeal to Mr. President who is the leader of the party, the Caretaker Committee, APC Governors’ Forum, and all other stakeholders to prevail on the Committee to remain in office and properly finish its job”.

Having considered several factors, the group concluded that it is best the committee holds both the national convention and presidential primary simultaneously.

“In view of what we have observed about the Committee’s eagerness to round off its assignment, we have, as the chairmen of the various APC chapters in European countries, on behalf of overwhelming mandate of members of the party in the diaspora, taken time to review political party practices in our countries of sojourn and beyond and we can confidently report that the template we have suggested is in conformity with international best practices in conducting the affairs of a political party,” the statement added.

“The APC Committee of Chairmen (Europe) therefore urges that the National convention of our great party should hold simultaneously with the Presidential Primary of the party just as its done in other developed and democratic nations . A natural consequence of this arrangement is that there would be no time lapse between the convention and primary, which implies that there would be no room for the crises being resolved by the Committee to resurface.

“The party cannot afford the distraction of planning two major events that can be merged into one especially the General Elections being about one year away. We should be strategic to conserve resources and channel same into winning elections instead of dissipating them on hosting multiple events.

“In terms of logistics, scheduling the Presidential Primary and National Convention at the same time will also allow our members in Europe and the rest of the world to attend the national convention of the party and give room for all members to be represented. This will save us the hardship of duplicating travel resources and the challenges associated with international travel given the hurdles posed by the management of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“It is also our belief that the APC in Nigeria, which incidentally is one of the largest political parties in the world must set the tone for others to follow. Only such commitment to long lasting internal reforms would give the party the moral high ground that would allow the party to provide the leadership it is providing in governance”.

The APC Diaspora chairmen, therefore, urged all APC stakeholders to “allow the international best practices being implemented by the Caretaker and Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee to prevail considering the immense benefits it presents to our great party”.

It also appealed that ” we must resist the temptation of being dragged into adopting approaches that have proven disastrous for other political parties in the past. The Caretaker Committee must therefore be allowed to conclude the task assigned to it”.

The APC Committee of Chairmen (Europe), however, urged Governor Mai Malam Buni and all the members of the Committee not to get tired of serving the party especially at this point that they are seen to be stabilizing the Party.

“They should note that their good efforts will amount to nullity should they hurriedly organize a National Convention that tears the party into pieces at the end of the day. History beckons on them and President Muhammadu Buhari as the party’s leader to ensure that APC adopts the template being suggested by us as the party’s leaders abroad,” the statement concluded.