Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, is a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The former Enugu State governor in a televised interview monitored by TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, speaks on issues surrounding the 2023 presidential election and why his party should allow a candidate from the South-East as the presidential flagbearer. He also shares his thoughts on the need to restructure Nigeria and other issues. Excerpts:

What do you make of this disclosure that the PDP now wants to create a level playing field in order to accommodate everybody in the six geo-political zones in terms of presidential contest in 2023?

What I can tell you is that as we speak now, the PDP has not taken a position on where the president will come from with regards to our nomination. You will recall that when we did our last national convention, we zoned just for the party offices and we didn’t zone for the elective offices at the executive level. Now, we are still going to set up a zoning committee when we get to that stage to look at the zoning. What is happening now is that every group that wishes to produce the presidential candidate is making their case. Our constitution permits for this. It says there should be zoning and rotation of political offices. That is clearly written in our constitution and we have obeyed it to a large extent since PDP was formed. Now if we cast our minds back, during the Abacha regime, there was the Constitutional Conference of 1995 and if you look at the draft constitution that was produced at that conference, in page 109, you will see where it is clearly written that there will be rotation between the North and the South. That draft constitution also contains that there will be two vice-presidents. Now if these provisions were not taken out when the 1999 constitution was written, there would have been no need for doctrine of necessity because the vice-president from the zone that the president came from would have stepped in as the president. You can see what happened recently in our own crisis that we had in PDP. When Uche Secondus was removed, the Vice-Chairman from the South stepped in as the acting chairman. Secondly, if we had captured this rotation in the constitution, then we will not be in this debate we are doing today because it would have been a constitutional matter that is signed, sealed and delivered. Indeed, I remembered very clearly at that time, the position of PDP was that the presidency should be a single term of six years and that it should rotate amongst the six geo-political zones. If we had adopted that rotation and single term, within 30 to 36 years, if it is five or six years tenure, every zone would have tasted the presidency, then we can safely say that we can go into merit. It doesn’t matter where the president comes from. As long as it is driven by merit, Nigerians should choose the best among those who are aspiring. But we have missed this opportunity and that is why we are in this conundrum and quagmire today. But I believe that the tradition that has been set in place where we have all agreed that the presidency should rotate between the North and the South, the argument that are being made now are just arguments that are being made by people who do not want to face the truth. Yes, we have sitting president from the North, soon to complete eight years. Is it fair that the North will continue for another eight years? Definitely not! Now, what happened when Umaru Yar’Adua died was not contrived by anybody. It was not even foreseen by our constitution. That was why we had to fall into the doctrine of necessity. But having done that and solved that situation, we should continue with our North/South rotation of the presidency for unity, fairness, equity and justice in our country.

Well, since the argument is on the table, anybody can manufacture his own reasons why it should be zoned to him or why it should be thrown open. But when we come to it, I will also present very, very convincing and strong reasons why this should go to the South-East and not any other place.

Was the emergence of the PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu who is from the North not an indication that PDP will choose its presidential candidate from the South?

Well, if PDP chooses a Southern presidential candidate, I believe that one, it will cut out PDP as a party that believes in fairness, equity and justice and above all, the unity of this country. We have had two PDP presidents in Nigeria and during their tenure, there was no agitation for separation of Nigeria. During their tenure, there was no accusation of marginalisation of any part of the country. So, I believe that if we present a Southern presidential candidate again, that policy will continue to be central in the administration of PDP. Secondly, I also believe that there is a clamour right now and leaders must listen to the people that they are ruling. There is a clamour for southern presidency and it is not dropping from the blues. It is dropping because that is the right way to go. That is why Southern Nigeria is arguing, insisting and trying to convince everybody that that is the right way to go. Unless we want to fester what is going on in Nigeria today, the division along tribes, religion, the agitation for people to live the country and insecurity. I don’t think that is what everybody should be gunning for. We should be convinced that there is only one way that justice can be rendered on this matter and once we follow that way, it will reunite our country and bring us back from the precipice. Therefore, this is not the time for people to be parochial. It is not a time for people to put selfish ambition over national unity. I think it is a time for sacrifice. It is a time to reunite our country from where we have been driven from the past six years. People must be conscious that there is only one way this can be done. I don’t know why it is difficult to convince our fellow country men that this time, it is important to do justice to Southern Nigeria and not to continue with a Northern presidential candidate after 2023.

After the PDP lost the presidential elections in 2015 and 2019, the big question has been, has the party learnt any lesson from the mistake it made in the past? Also, if the PDP decides to zone the ticket to the South, do you think the South-West and South- South will leave it for the South-East?

South-East for close to 60 years, has patiently waited for this justice to be done. And in all of these, during the election of Shehu Shagari, we voted for the NPN massively from the South- East. During the time of Olusegun Obasanjo, the South-East again, in spite of the fact that the PDP was engineered by Dr. Alex Ekwueme, when he and majority of the contestants from the East lost in the primary in Jos, we again voted massively for a candidate in the South-West. When it was the turn of Yar’Adua, a lot of candidates came from Eastern Nigeria. The likes of Peter Odili, Achike Udenwa, Sam Egwu, Donald Duke and others came out to contest for the presidency. But when they all lost to Yar’Adua, the South-East voted massively for the PDP. So, as we speak now, if the South-East is given the ticket, why will all the sections of Nigeria that we have been voting massively for in the PDP now take their votes and go and give it to somebody else because South-East is not part of Nigeria? Is that the case that should be made and it is a just case? Is that a case for the unity of Nigeria? What has the South-East actually done to merit all of these? Is it that we lack people that can rule Nigeria? Or is there a crime that we have committed that this punishment is not yet over? I think that our countrymen should have a conscience and I believe that this country has a conscience. Yes, there was injustice in June 12. The next opportunity that came up after Abacha sustained June 12 and when he left office, the next election, justice was done to the people of South-West. PDP nominated Olusegun Obasanjo. Even though Ogbonnaya Onu had won the nomination in the opposition party, he had to yield to Olu Falae. This country has a conscience. We don’t know why that conscience takes a flight when it comes to the South-East. We think that we need that conscience to wake up. We need all right-thinking people of Nigeria who wants to heal the wounds of yesterday, who wants us to march together in unity and develop our country to yield this position at this time in all parties to the South-East.

The Southern power blocs, led by the Southern Governors Forum last year signed a communique demanding for Southern presidency. Is that power bloc going to be silenced by the Northern blocs?

As I said, we are all fighting for the soul of Nigeria and it will be sad that that soul of our country is bastardised at this time. We believed that this is an unusual happening for governors of Southern Nigeria from different political parties and different tribes to come in unison and say that the presidency should be zoned to Southern Nigeria. I don’t think that this demand is something that should be taken for granted and say it is not a serious matter. It is indeed a very serious matter. And there are strong reasons why they came to that conclusion. They didn’t just come to it just to play politics or play to the gallery. They came to it out of conviction and tradition of what has been happening in our country. Why must we change the goalpost in the middle of the game? We don’t have to do that. This status quo has to remain because it has united this country so far. Why do we want to dash it to the rocks now when the unity of this country is standing on a thin thread? I don’t think this is the right time for us to rock the boat. People’s personal ambition can never be stronger than a united national ambition. All Nigerians have to come together to build this country. No one section can build it alone. Therefore, we must put all hands on deck. That is why we are being extremely passionate and we are pleading, trying to gauge the conscience of our country to do the right thing. I believe that if the presidency is zoned to the South and the two parties nominate their candidates from the South, the country will definitely find a credible presidential candidate to vote for that will reunite our country and then together, we can now rebuild our country.

What qualities should we be looking out for in the next president?

For Nigeria to choose a candidate as president at this time, there are qualities Nigerians should be looking for. Wherever the president may come from, there are qualities we must look out for. The first quality is, we need a president who can comprehend the present conundrum in Nigeria and who has a clear vision of how to address the situation in Nigeria today. He must be a candidate that has clear economic roadmap to remove us from the point of the poorest nation in the world back to the economy that is growing fastest in Africa and the economy that is number seven fastest growing economy in the world. That candidate must have a solution to unemployment. We need a candidate who has integrity, not one that will fall on the knife of EFCC He must be somebody whose lifestyle has put service before wealth. We need a candidate who has the capacity to communicate. He must have a great communication skill in order to articulate our problems and solutions in order to carry us along. We need a candidate who is educated; who can comprehend the different problems that are facing Nigeria and be able to collate ideas, synthesize them and find the solution. This is the kind of candidate we are looking for. It must be a candidate that on his feet can answer the insecurity problems in Nigeria and in the region of West Africa. We need a candidate who at the same time, must also have a vision of harnessing our internal resources which God has blessed us with abundantly. The other day I was looking at my diaries and I was looking at the minerals in each of the 36 states and FCT in Nigeria. I said to myself ‘I don’t see the reason why any Nigerian should go to bed hungry’. If we have a political structure like we had at independence where each region was harnessing these potentials, low hanging fruits that created wealth with which they advance the developments of their various regions. Nigeria’s next president must have the courage to restructure our country if we are to survive politically and economically. A central police can no longer police our country. What else needs to be done for us to realise that it is not working? If we decentralise the policing of this country today, the security of this country will be better and more efficient. We have to go to the crux of our foundation. This foundation is not working and it is going to be worse in the future. A centralised government in a federation is an abnormality. There is no way it can work.

If the South-East is to put forward persons as presidential candidates, who are those you will recommend?

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation. In Nigeria, she was in charge of various ministries, coordinating the economy of this country. She was our Minister of Finance and in these portfolios, she got us debt relief, she moved our economy to be the number one in Africa, she moved our economy to be number seventh in the world. Or are you telling me that in Africa, we are not ready for a female president?

You talk about Sam Ohuanbunwa. He was the leader of the Economic summit at a time government listened to the economic summit and made use of their suggestions that saw our economy growing. He has been in the manufacturing sector; he has led the pharmaceutical sector in this country. Anyim Pius Anyim, who was Senate President and Secretary to the Federal Government. Does he not have enough exposure? What about John Nnia Nwodo, who has been federal Minister multiple times and who led Ohanaeze Ndigbo creditably? What about Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu who has PhD in engineering, former governor, former national chairman of a political party, longtime serving minister? Will you tell me he doesn’t have the capacity to rule Nigeria? What about Peter Obi? Governor Peter Obi was the first governor in Nigeria who on leaving office, left monumental resources, both in fixed deposits and investments and in cash for his successor. Till today, nobody has traced N10 of Anambra state that wrongly went into his pocket. Extremely successful businessman, he has gone to all the business schools in the world to improve his grasp of entrepreneurship and economic development? You tell me he cannot rule Nigeria? I can go on and on. We have materials and people who have demonstrated transparency in governance, business and who have credible ideas on how to take us out of our conundrum. Why can’t we turn to the South- East for God’s sake? What is the crime of the South-East? What have we done that Nigerians cannot forgive? I don’t understand what is going on. But I believe as I said before, Nigeria has a conscience and we are here to prick that conscience, to wake it up as it has been done in the past in order to heal the wounds of June 12. Today, with what is going on in the North East, we have set up a North East Development Commission. When the South-South protested that it was the hen that laid the golden eggs and they wanted resource control, President Yar’Adua healed the wounds and created a Ministry of Niger Delta. We also created NDDC , a company that is targeted at improving and fast forwarding the development in the Niger Delta. We have created opportunities for their youths. Why is it that when it comes to the South East, the story changes and the conscience of this country takes a flight? We said at the end of the civil war, no victor, no vanquished. We talked about reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction, all delivered in the breach. For years, it was an anathema for anybody in the South East to dream of heading any of the arms of the military or the police or to be Minister of Finance. They were no-go areas. We endured and didn’t complain. I think that Nigeria owes the South-East a lot. We are the first that should have been given a zonal economic commission but today, we don’t have it. Today, our youths are despondent and are going into depression, drugs, agitation for freedom they cannot find in our country and nobody wants to reach out to them or listen to them. Instead, they are labeled as terrorists for wanting a level playing ground in their country. Is it right? Absolutely not.
https://independent.ng/igbos-havent-committed-any-crime-to-be-denied-presidency-in-2023-nwodo/

summary of all these episodes

Who go read this inurgurial lecture

Who is denying who?
You really expect all the tribes to just say Igbo take presidency...na wao

To be president of the zoo republic

Elder this post long o

The bottom line is Igbo is getting it with
Amaechi Zulum 2023

Watch how southwest media in the coming days will tell you how Amaechi even though he is Igbo is not Igbo

Suddenly Yorubas will start clamouring for an Igbo presidency that Ameachi is not Igbo

We know them

Amaechi Zulum 2023

And has anyone denied the Igbo the presidency.

You guys have a party you have been loyal to for decades, demand the presidency from them after all people only sow where they can reap

Dawn91:
Elder this post long o

The bottom line is Igbo is getting it with
Amaechi Zulum 2023

Watch how southwest media in the coming days will tell you how Amaechi even though he is Igbo is not Igbo

Suddenly Yorubas will start clamouring for an Igbo presidency that Ameachi is not Igbo

We know them

Amaechi Zulum 2023

the thing is, will Igbo accept ameachi as Igbo candidate?

Dawn91:
Elder this post long o

The bottom line is Igbo is getting it with
Amaechi Zulum 2023

Watch how southwest media in the coming days will tell you how Amaechi even though he is Igbo is not Igbo

Suddenly Yorubas will start clamouring for an Igbo presidency that Ameachi is not Igbo

We know them

Amaechi Zulum 2023

You guys never learn, this is how you chimps destroyed Peter Obi's chances.....now you're doing the same with ameachi, the only thing helping ameachi his service to the north and the infrastructure he did over there and not his igboness, he'd first build a rail connecting daura to Niger republic before he thinks of giving the south east a port, so don't use your igbotic badluck to spoil his chances.

[s]

JohnSin97:


You guys never learn, this is how you chimps destroyed Peter Obi's chances.....now you're doing the same with ameachi, the only thing helping ameachi his service to the north and the infrastructure he did over there and not his igboness, he'd first build a rail connecting daura to Niger republic before he thinks of giving the south east a port, so don't use your igbotic badluck to spoil his chances.

[/s]
.Yoruba man, mind your human rituals eroded region and leave our son alone!! He is our son, and he is also Igbo so the Igbos will give our son their votcry all you want because your tears will fill an ocean come 2023

Amaechi Zulum 2023

intervention3:
the thing is, will Igbo accept ameachi as Igbo candidate?

They have always accepted just as they accepted Jonathan

So please go and rest Yoruba man

1966 coup and senseless Biafra war is what?

So Ameachi is igbo? Jonathan that fooled you people by claiming igbo is currentlyenjoying his looting in otuoke.

Dawn91:
Elder this post long o

The bottom line is Igbo is getting it with
Amaechi Zulum 2023

Watch how southwest media in the coming days will tell you how Amaechi even though he is Igbo is not Igbo

Suddenly Yorubas will start clamouring for an Igbo presidency that Ameachi is not Igbo

We know them

Amaechi Zulum 2023

johnmartus:
So Ameachi is igbo? Jonathan that fooled you people by claiming igbo is currentlyenjoying his looting in otuoke.

Leave our son . Igbos are our brothers !! It is a family affair. Family quarrels everyday but are unbreakable.

Focus on how all your youths have turned to human ritualists !!

Amaechi Zulum 2023

Dawn91:


They have always accepted just as they accepted Jonathan

So please go and rest Yoruba man

lol, but Jonathan was never an Igbo man, when will you people stop forcing your self on others?

This old man should understand that too much analysis will not make Nigerians vote igbo.

The plan is that

Southwest 2023 to 2030
North 2030 to 2038
South south 2038 to 2045


Southeast zero serve your master.

Dawn91:
[s][/s]
.Yoruba man, mind your human rituals eroded region and leave our son alone!! He is our son, and he is also Igbo so the Igbos will give our son their votcry all you want because your tears will fill an ocean come 2023

Amaechi Zulum 2023

Lol.... he's "our" son.... pathetic bunch.

Abeg chill out you this simp, he's the son of daura and will first do the bidding of daura, then the bidding of the south south before he even considers nyamiris in the south east...man, really sad that you guys can't even get VP talkless of presidency now have to settle for a politician that only remembers his igboness for political reasons. The only gain you guys would get from an ameachi presidency is the consolation of Igbo presidency.

Nobody denies Igbo presidency, is just the illusion created by media that is forcing Igbos to grow cold feet when it comes to National politics.

I have never see igbo on this forum proud of his Igbotic. Even Asari Dokubo called you slave to them.

Dawn91:


Leave our son . Igbos are our brothers !! It is a family affair. Family quarrels everyday but are unbreakable.

Focus on how all your youths have turned to human ritualists !!

Amaechi Zulum 2023

Igbo elders should actually be the champions of restructuring because Igbo presidency won't even pay them, same as Yoruba elders. Every elected Nigerian president will always do the bidding of the majority that elected him, and who are the majority? Northerners. The reason Peter Obi or tinubu can't be president really isn't because of anything but because of the fact that these men can't be trusted to do the bidding of the northern oligarch.

Peter Obi for most of them is to Igbocentric for most of them and will consider his Igbo people first.

Tinubu seems to cunning and already has alot of power for most of them.

Osinbanjo while he was Acting President showed that he couldn't be trusted by them to do their bidding.

[s]

JohnSin97:


Lol.... he's "our" son.... pathetic bunch.

Abeg chill out you this simp, he's the son of daura and will first do the bidding of daura, then the bidding of the south south before he even considers nyamiris in the south east...man, really sad that you guys can't even get VP talkless of presidency now have to settle for a politician that only remembers his igboness for political reasons. The only gain you guys would get from an ameachi presidency is the consolation of Igbo presidency.

[/s]

Typical pained.yoruba

He is our son , an ikwerre prince and the Igbo accept him as their son too and will.vote enmasse for him!!

Let it sink in and flood your eyes with tears !!

Amaechi Zulum 2023

Cry cry cryyyyyyy!!!!!!!

intervention3:
lol, but Jonathan was never an Igbo man, when will you people stop forcing your self on others?

We and Igbos are one cry all you want cry cry cy cry

Typical Yoruba trying hard to find an angle

He is our son, prince of the ikwerre kingdom , Igbos consider him their son too

Cryyyyyyyyy

Amaechi Zulum 2023

power is not given if you want power you must fight for it Simple

aanuoluwami14:
summary of all these episodes

you are one of people that make buhari to be calling us Lazy youth.

Lazy Yoruba yoot

aanuoluwami14:
summary of all these episodes

[quote author=Dawn91 post=110034735]

We and Igbos are one cry all you want cry cry cy cry

Typical Yoruba trying hard to find an angle

He is our son, prince of the ikwerre kingdom , Igbos consider him their son too

Cryyyyyyyyy
Amaechi Zulum 2023
the thing is that, it's always easy for me to identify a Igbo person claiming another tribe just to make him self happy, tomorrow I'm sure you will be claiming that you're from bayelsa.

Dawn91:


We and Igbos are one cry all you want cry cry cy cry

Typical Yoruba trying hard to find an angle

He is our son, prince of the ikwerre kingdom , Igbos consider him their son too

Cryyyyyyyyy

Amaechi Zulum 2023

the thing is that, it's always easy for me to identify a Igbo person claiming another tribe just to make him self happy, tomorrow I'm sure you will be claiming that you're from bayelsa.

intervention3:
the thing is that, it's always easy for me to identify a Igbo person claiming another tribe just to make him self happy, tomorrow I'm sure you will be claiming that you're from bayelsa.

Typical Yoruba they always know everything and are always uneasy to see others speak unitedly ... You have to ask yourself what is wrong with you.. why do you feel so threatened that the Igbo will vote for our son.?

You are so afraid and uneasy due to the evil you and your kin spread.

Cry me a River

Amaechi Zulum 2023

[quote author=intervention3 post=110038186][/quote]

Cryyyyy more Yoruba man

Tinubu will not get 100.votes in the entire Niger Delta

Our Igbo brothers will never vote for him, the north must do as Buhari wishes

Amaechi Zulum 2023

Amaechi will be your next president

Amaechi Zulum 2023

Cry for me more.

Dawn91:


They have always accepted just as they accepted Jonathan

So please go and rest Yoruba man

Are we talking about ethnicity or region? It's still not fair to the southeast for their regional slot to be filled by someone else from the south south region. If Nigerians decide to give Igbo presidency a chance, its only fair that someone from the SE region gets the slot afterall, Jonathan used up the SS slot