On Tuesday, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council issued a warning to PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar not to replace Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate.
OYC advises Atiku to disregard their votes if he chooses to replace Okowa with Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State.
The group that stated that it was the South-turn East’s to produce the next president claimed that Okowa’s pick is a solace for them.
OYC added that it is opposed to Wike being chosen as Atiku’s running mate because he disavowed Ndigbo.
The statement from the top Igbo organization, which was signed by its President-General, Okwu Nnabuike, and Secretary-General, Obinna Achuonye, issued this warning.
The statement reads, “There is no need to repeat that we expected both the PDP and the APC to zone their presidential tickets to the South-East, but that did not happen.
“Though this has been overtaken by events, the only consolation we have is the choice of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, considering that Okowa is a true Igbo son.
“Having said this, how could anyone wake up and think of replacing Okowa with Wike? As much as we know that Atiku reserves the right to choose whoever he wills as his running mate, we also have the right to vote according to our desire.
“And that desire is clear- that the PDP would not get one vote from Igbo land should they field Wike because this is a man who disowned Ndigbo. He said he is not one of us and this is payback time, we also do not know him. Should the PDP make the mistake of pairing him with Atiku, the PDP will be roundly rejected during the presidential election.”
