By Ezechukwu Chidozie
The founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and former National Chairman of the defunct United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie, has said that neither the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), nor the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has given the indication to give a candidate of the South-East extraction their presidential ticket in the 2023 election.
Okorie, and now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) , said his former party, APGA, is the last resort for any politician from the South-East who wants to contest presidential election in 2023.
He made statements during the public presentation of his book, “APGA and the Igbo Question” in Abuja.
Speaking to journalists after the event on the prospects of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction, Okorie said: “There is an opportunity for APGA to still serve its intended purpose.
“It is only APGA that gave the Igbos presidential candidate 20 years ago and it is still APGA that can give Igboman the presidential ticket for 2023 election.
“I have said time without number that neither the APC nor the PDP will give an Igbo man a presidential ticket.
“This is a power tussle and no one gives power on the milk of human kindness.”
Okorie said that for Ndigbo to make real impact in the 2023 presidential election, the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, “may need to go to Governor Charles Soludo, sit down with him and say this is the only party we have and we want to present our own candidate and we want his support for him to win the presidential election.”
On regrets of leaving APGA, Okorie said that the party was not just a political party, but intended to be a movement, and platform for Ndigbo to engage the rest of the country.
He said he tried everything humanly possible to resolve the crisis in APGA when it began, lobbying and persuading various people for intervention, but that the efforts failed.
In addition, Okorie said that he tried to highlight the tragedy that ndigbo had suffered from APGA’s misfortune in one of the chapters in the book.
Okorie said that he founded UPP with the same agenda as APGA but regrettes that UPP did not live up to the expectations of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and was deregistered.
He also explained his adventure into the APC, saying he felt tired of opposition politics and decided to taste the other side.
He said though he was not all that disappointed with APC but that Nigerians were not satisfied with the party’s performance.
On whether he may consider going back to APGA, Okorie said: “APGA being my child, I still have that passion and that was why I added the last chapter in my book, a new vista take off, showing the way forward for APGA.
“Yes, it is a possibility if certain conditions are met but these are being discussed.
“The idea is that even if I decide to return to APGA, it would be to take it back as a platform for negotiations, reconciliation and engagement.
“That is the part of the condition of which I will go, because no group, no section can do it on its own. Nigeria is so big, negotiated engagement is the best way to go.
“If APGA gets its act right, I am not in the party now, there is no reason an Igbo man should fly its presidential flag.
“The Igbo man doesn’t need to beg the APC or PDP for tickets,” he insisted.
Okorie said that APGA already has a recognised structure even if not we’ll spread out, stressing that with eight months within which to campaign and make the party reclaim its pride of place, it could still achieve the intended purpose.
“The right thing to do now is to go back and rejuvenate APGA, get a presidential candidate, at the end of the day, there are pre-election and post-election alliances.
“So APGA should be able to have an open mind and be able to engage,” he said.
On the relevance of Ndigbo in the current political engagement in Nigeria, he said the Igbo have a sizable population in almost every part of the country.
“You don’t have such a population and remain irrelevant,” he said.
Okorie described his book as a product of his 46 years involvement in Igbo crusade, human rights and political activism from 1976 to 2022.
