Okechukwu Lambasts Okorocha

The spokesman of  the All Progressive Congress in the South-East, Osita Okechukwu yesterday described Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha’s failed bid to win the APC Presidential primary election as  weakening  the opportunity of  Ndigbo to bargain for Vice Presidency slot in the party, Vanguard reports.

Osita Okechukwu

Okechukwu, who is the former spokesman of the winner of the APC presidential primary election, General Muhammadu Buhari  in a press statement reacted to Okorocha’s statement where the governor said: “By participating in the contest  I have been able to prove that the president can come from any part of the country. It is the understanding of APC that the president should come from the North ever since. I know about that, but I don’t like those facts, so I have come to distort those facts which are not the truth”.

According to Okechukwu, “His Excellency’s statement is one of self denial, for rather than apologizing to Ndigbo for his gambit, which made Ndigbo to lose the national chairmanship of the APC, placed us in a weak position to vie for Vice President, he is regrettably justifying the unjustifiable.

“One had thought that as a leader he could had placed the collective interest of Ndigbo above his Nollywood show, since he is quite aware of the position of the party as regards zoning.

“For the avoidance of doubt, in a South East Caucus meeting at His Excellency, Dr Ogboninya Onu’s residence at Abuja in July, 2014, some of us agreed that he is eminently qualified to vie for presidency, but given the prevailing understanding that the presidency is going North, we should vie for chairmanship and vice president slots, waiting for the next 8 years when it is coming South.  He refused and boasted that he is going to win the presidential primary.

“I personally narrated to him that zoning like every convention has its moral weight, the North having patriotically zoned the presidency to the South. I further persuaded him to go back to Imo State and conclude the good works he is doing so as to present a good legacy, when the rotation comes South, the South West and South South having occupied the coveted presidency respectively since our return to civil rule in 1999.

That Dr Onu should be supported for chairmanship, he backed out”, the statement concluded.

Two days ago, it was reported that Gen. Buhari might choose former  Attorney-general of Lagos state, Professor Yemi Osibanjo as his running mate in the 2015 presidential elections.