Igbo presidency: Restructuring Nigeria comes first– Ohanaeze Ndigbo

John Nwodo, President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has maintained that Igbo presidency is second place to Nigeria’s restructuring.“Nigeria is more important than the agitation for Igbo Presidency”, he said.This, was said at a dinner organised in his honour by the Lagos chapter of Old Sigmites, a club founded in 1950 at the University of Ibadan.Insisting that the agitation for Igbo Presidency, he said that the agitation for Igbo presidency in 2019 was a non-issue as far as he was concerned. He went further to say that as the head of the group, he was apolitical and not affiliated with any political party.“This is an issue for political parties; it has nothing to do with me. The issue of power rotation among regions is not new, it is somehow aligned with the doctrine of federal character which is in our constitution.“No party has called for nomination. I don’t think agitation for Igbo presidency is important now; what Nigerians are asking for is restructuring of the country to be a true federation. It cannot continue to be a federation in name; the political lexicography for federation is an independent federal unit.“The moment you have independent federal units being state or regions, with controlling powers over their resources, they will contribute on agreed proportion to the Federation. The question of who is president and where he comes from will die down. It is going to be a matter of who is competent.“MASSOB and IPOB organisations, no matter how divided they appear in public, are basically motivated by the same sense of outrage and bitterness. Our young men and women can no longer tolerate a second class status in their own country,” he concluded.