…says group not a political party
Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha has described the endorsement of the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar by the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohaneze Ndigbo as null and void and of no effect.
The Imo governor in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, insisted that “Ohaneze is a Socio-Cultural Organization and not a registered political party and there is no voting unit or polling booth called Ohaneze. So, its adoption of the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP should be seen as a folklore and should not give anybody concern”.
Okorocha also pointed out that the action of the Igbo group, has no electoral value, “the adoption is neither here nor there, since it has no electoral value. This is also not the first time Ohaneze has adopted a PDP Presidential Candidate. It did that in 2015, yet, PDP failed with its Presidential candidate, while APC won with its Presidential candidate.
“And one would have expected Ohaneze to exercise caution this time following what happened in 2015. Indeed, the Organization should have done things differently especially when it remembers that all Igbos whether in PDP, APC, APGA, ADC or SDP are presumed to be members of Ohaneze”.
He noted further that, “not minding the adoption, President Muhammadu Buhari will win in the South-East and the general election proper. So, Igbos in APC should remain focused and not to make the adoption an issue, when it is not an issue in all ramifications”.