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The APC leader who it was reported was not in a very friendly mood chided the union leaders following reports of violence and intimidation witness in the state during the Presidential and National Assembly election.
Reports suggest that boys taking orders from MC Oluomo, the national treasurer of the NURTW, had invaded Oshodi, shutting down shops believed to belong to traders of Igbo extraction and threatening. The hoodlums accused the traders of not voting for the APC and President Buhari in the elections and warned them against doing so when the governorship polls came calling.
The event drew widespread condemnation across Nigeria and embarrassed the APC in particular, however, MC Oluomo, the main culprit in the story has since denied having a hand in the violence claiming that those who caused the breakdown of law and order in Oshodi were not boys loyal to him.
The situation also forced the APC governorship candidate to meet with Igbo traders in the state and also representatives of Igbos resident in Lagos and assured them of their safety during and after the election.
However, the now appears that Tinubu has now taken it upon himself to address the situation, the APC national leader is believed to have told the NURTW leaders to call their boys to order and make sure that violence was avoided during the gubernatorial and State House of Assembly polls.
Still, on the elections, an APC chieftain in Enugu state has stated that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo were in error when they decided to support Atiku instead of Buhari.
“That Ohanaeze action was a calamitous one to Ndigbo. Given the circumstances, if the Ohanaeze was looking for the best for the Igbo man; why didn’t they endorse an Igbo presidential candidate; there were many Igbo sons and daughters running for the presidency?
“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo did not think it best that an Igbo man becomes the president; they thought it will be best for an Igbo man to become the vice president,” Ikechukwu Ugwuegede, a House of Representative candidate for of the APC in Enugu State, said.
“It just doesn’t make sense. If on the other hand, they were arguing that Prof. Kingsley Moghalu was not electable; how come they didn’t know that Atiku Abubakar was not going to win the election? Many of us knew that.
“So, if they wanted the best for the Igbo man, they would have been strategic; looking at the interest of the Igbo in the long term and go with him whose long term strategy would be best for the Igbo man,” he added.
“Buhari would do four more years and we would have the pride of place to aspire to the presidency of the country. The rotation and other political calculations; equity, fairness and justice, all favour the Igbo presidency in 2023. Nobody is going to give it to us on a platter; I agree, but it favours us because we are supposed to come out and do our own bit.
“The little bit that the Ohanaeze was supposed to do for us; I dare say, they failed to do it. If they had supported an Igbo presidential candidate, win or lose, they wouldn’t have been blamed because the Ohanaeze Ndigbo is supposed to protect the interest of the Igbo,” he continued.
“So, I think that the fact that the leadership of Ohanaeze failed to assess the strategy of the best thing for Ndigbo will not rub-off on the heads of Ndigbo. Remember that the decision was taken by a few people in the so-called leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
“By and large, a good number of people know that was not the sentiment of Ndigbo and I doubt whether the statement added any particular vote to any presidential candidate; one way or the other.
“It’s a pity that Ohanaeze Ndigbo went that way when sister ethnic organisations were more taciturn; sober in their own assessment and the so-called endorsement of presidential candidates.
“The presidency and President Muhammadu Buhari know that the support of Ndigbo for him is far more than what is stated in these allocated votes from the South East states and we are certainly going to get the best we can for Ndigbo in the APC.
“That’s why we advocate that our membership of the APC is not for personal interest but for us to be in a position to get for our people what ought to be theirs,” he concluded.
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