October 12, (THEWILL) – Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has berated the Chairman of DAAR Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, over comments on the 2023 presidency.
Ohanaeze was reacting to a statement made by Dokpesi in Abuja on Saturday as part of activities marking his 70th birthday.
Dokpesi, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reportedly said that the South-East cannot win Presidency for the PDP and therefore canvassed his support for a northern candidate for the party in 2023.
According to Dokpesi only a Northern candidate can win the forthcoming presidential election for the main opposition party, adding that there is no candidate from the Southeast and the South in general that will be able to win the top seat in the country for the PDP.
“The South-East cannot win the election for the PDP. That is just the truth of the matter. I don’t beat around the bush; I treat issues as they are and as I understand them. There is no candidate from the South-East, even I dare say there is no candidate from the South that you put in the North today that will be able to win. It is going to be a humongous challenge”, he was reportedly quoted last Saturday.
However, Ohanaeze in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Alex Ogbonnia, said, Nigeria might remain in crisis until the leaders embrace justice, equity and fairness as guiding philosophies.
Ogbonnia said, “I sympathise with our southern son, Chief Dokpesi because he started as the personal assistant to Alhaji Bamaga Tukur at the Nigerian Ports Authority. Dokpesi also served under Alhaji Umaru Dikko and General Garba Wushishi. Records reveal that Alh. Bamanga Tukur paid his fees from secondary school to postgraduate level. To that extent, he owes allegiance to his benefactors and feels no compunction to profile the entire south as electoral liability.
“One can easily understand the psychological ambivalence in the Dokpesi persona. On the other hand, there is no reason for the condescension and disdain he handed over to the entire South.”
“Dokpesi’s assumptions are unreflective, weird and unworthy. Any person who loves Nigeria should be an advocate of power rotation especially between the north and the south; and those our sons and daughters who lay claim to leadership should not, under any guise, give the impression that the south is a lame-duck, an electoral liability; and therefore must depend on the north to define the political trajectory of Nigeria”, the group added.
Ohanaeze urged Dokpesi to allow justice and fairness to guide his dealings and choices, even as the group reminded the business mogul to be mindful of the kind of epitaph that he wishes to be remembered for.
The Group commended the 17 Southern Governors for insisting that power should shift to the south in 2023.
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