The decision to defer the national dialogue on the possibility of a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction earlier billed for Enugu on April 30, 2020 followed total lockdown in the country due to coronavirus.
At the discourse, which was being packaged by the South East for President 2023 Movement (SEFORP2023), participants were expected to endorse and argue why the Igbo should be allowed to produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor in line with the principle of rotation of political offices around the country.
Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo would lead politicians, religious, traditional rulers and over 80 other organisations in the South East and the Diaspora to the event described as the largest political gathering of Ndigbo in recent times.
National Coordinator of SEFORP2023), Reverend Okechukwu C. Obioha said the event had been postponed to a later date to enable participants observe Federal Government’s restriction order.
Obioha said the dialogue with the theme, “President Of Nigeria From The South East Zone In 2023, An Ingredient Of True Unity In Diversity,” was part of the strategy to seek the support of other zones for the project, stressing that it would go a long way in announcing the determination of Ndigbo to occupy presidential seat after Buhari.
Obioha, a former National Chairman of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), explained that the mission of the group was to ensure that all political parties, especially the two major leading ones and any emergent third force would cede their presidential candidates to the South East zone.
“To achieve this, we need to ensure that the Igbo work together, we need to make it bold that we are ready and have what it takes to lead the country and since Igbo votes alone cannot give us the presidency, we also need to strategise on how to reach other zones for support in the project,” he added.