Youth groups in the South East have hailed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his public expression of support for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction.
Obasanjo had on Tuesday when he hosted the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter at his Abeokuta Hilltop residence, urged the Igbos to contest for the presidency in 2019.
In a joint statement signed by the National President of the Igbo Youth for Good Governance, Dr. Benjamin Okeke, and the National President of Igbo Youth Initiative, Comrade Wilfred Eze, on Wednesday, Obasanjo was acknowledged for extending his sympathy for the Igbo cause and was described as the new father of democracy.
The statement stressed that his support for Igbo Presidency has given Ndigbo hope that they would find realignment and fairness within a united Nigeria.
According to the statement, an Igbo presidency would settle the differences and issues yet to be explained and reconciled within the major ethnic groups of Nigeria, especially to the inquisitive youths of Ndigbo.
They said: “We commend President Olusegun Obasanjo for joining the likes of former military heads of state, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and General Yakubu Gowon, who had earlier called for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction.
“Ndigbo have credible and de-tribalized personalities who have the capacity to govern Nigeria and an Igbo presidency will boost the unity of Nigeria.”
The statement also implored other elder statesmen and national figures to take similar steps in supporting the national call for a competent Nigerian president of Igbo extraction.
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