2023: Ezeife's visit to Shettima divides Igbo elders
Please share this story:
About two weeks after the visit of a former Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, to the All Progressives Congress vice-presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, the Igbo Elders Advisory Forum that he presides over is seriously divided, The PUNCH has learned.
Although the official statement claimed it was a courtesy visit, sources said it plunged the IECF into controversy as members who had championed the presidency Igbo and backing Labor Party presidential candidate Peter Obi remained divided. .
The division among members of the organization has been fueled by the cancellation of two press conferences scheduled earlier at 1 p.m. on Tuesday June 14 and Friday June 24, 2022 at Ezeife's residence in Asokoro at the last minute, when no explanation was given.
Since that time, the IECF has maintained a deafening silence, fueling further speculation that politicians may have infiltrated its members.
A dazed IECF member who does not want to be mentioned confirmed the split but was unsure if it was allegedly sponsored by the All Progressives Congress.
He said, "I'm not sure what's going on among the Igbo elders. The only problem is that after those two press conferences and even aborted meetings, we decided to focus somewhere else and watch. There are people who came to hijack the place in order to make money.
“We don't know if they are sponsored by the APC. tried to divide us. We didn't let that bother us because we knew where we were going and we were doing underground work.
“But I think we came to our senses, we came back from our madness. These people actually failed, they fell apart. The APC wanted to neutralize us, but that one is now over.”< /p>
When contacted about the division among Igbo elders and if it was not a threat to Obi's ambition, support network spokesman Peter Obi, Onwuasoanya Jones, said the Obi movement was a national program.
According to him, Ezeife is a former statesman and can decide to visit whoever he wants.
He said: "The Obi presidential project is not an Igbo programme. It is a Nigerian project and we are accessing the rights of every Nigerian to decide who to support and who to vote for. We believe that if the skill, character and credibility are the deciding factors, Obi far outweighs all other candidates in this race
"Ezeife is a former statesman and former governor. We cannot decide for him who to visit or not. He is absolutely within his rights to visit Shettima or anyone else for that matter."< /p>
Please share this story:
About two weeks after the visit of a former Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, to the All Progressives Congress vice-presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, the Igbo Elders Advisory Forum that he presides over is seriously divided, The PUNCH has learned.
Although the official statement claimed it was a courtesy visit, sources said it plunged the IECF into controversy as members who had championed the presidency Igbo and backing Labor Party presidential candidate Peter Obi remained divided. .
The division among members of the organization has been fueled by the cancellation of two press conferences scheduled earlier at 1 p.m. on Tuesday June 14 and Friday June 24, 2022 at Ezeife's residence in Asokoro at the last minute, when no explanation was given.
Since that time, the IECF has maintained a deafening silence, fueling further speculation that politicians may have infiltrated its members.
A dazed IECF member who does not want to be mentioned confirmed the split but was unsure if it was allegedly sponsored by the All Progressives Congress.
He said, "I'm not sure what's going on among the Igbo elders. The only problem is that after those two press conferences and even aborted meetings, we decided to focus somewhere else and watch. There are people who came to hijack the place in order to make money.
“We don't know if they are sponsored by the APC. tried to divide us. We didn't let that bother us because we knew where we were going and we were doing underground work.
“But I think we came to our senses, we came back from our madness. These people actually failed, they fell apart. The APC wanted to neutralize us, but that one is now over.”< /p>
When contacted about the division among Igbo elders and if it was not a threat to Obi's ambition, support network spokesman Peter Obi, Onwuasoanya Jones, said the Obi movement was a national program.
According to him, Ezeife is a former statesman and can decide to visit whoever he wants.
He said: "The Obi presidential project is not an Igbo programme. It is a Nigerian project and we are accessing the rights of every Nigerian to decide who to support and who to vote for. We believe that if the skill, character and credibility are the deciding factors, Obi far outweighs all other candidates in this race
"Ezeife is a former statesman and former governor. We cannot decide for him who to visit or not. He is absolutely within his rights to visit Shettima or anyone else for that matter."< /p>
What's Your Reaction?
