Osita Okechukwu, the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), has criticized the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the south-east region for prioritizing their personal interests over the development of the south-eastern part of Nigeria.
During an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Okechukwu pointed out that figures like Senator Dave Umahi and Governor Hope Uzodinma should have been more proactive in advocating for the advancement of the south-east within the government, rather than pursuing their individual agendas.
Okechukwu lamented the actions of the self-proclaimed APC leaders in the south-east, asserting that their decisions during negotiations appeared to prioritize sidelining prominent figures in the region’s five states. He believed this was driven by concerns about their own political careers or positions of power.
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He stated, “I did not absolve President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. My framework of statement or message is that he should not be blamed too much as regards the south-east.
“What is sad is that, if there’s blame game to be played, that it should be laid exactly where it lies- on the doorsteps, mostly, on the so-called APC leaders of the south-east, the so-called new APC leaders, who I noticed, while the whole negotiation was going on, were busy trying to knock-off our first 11 in the various five states.
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“Their reason is that they might pose a danger to their own political career or their kingdom.”
Regarding Governor Uzodinma’s appointment as the Chairman of the APC Governors Forum, Okechukwu expressed disappointment that Uzodinma did not use his influential position to advocate for the greater benefit of the south-east. Instead, he accused Uzodinma and Senator Umahi of pursuing personal preferences that diverged from the collective interests of the south-east.
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Okechukwu recalled the ‘knock-out” that Senator Umahi had done to his brother and rival Mrs Agom Eze to get a senate position, instead of speaking on behalf of growth for the south-east to President Tinubu.
He believed that leaders like Umahi and Uzodinma should have been more united and forward-thinking in their approach rather than succumbing to petty disputes.
“Even in the face of the fact that we were happy when our brother, the governor of Imo state, his excellency, Hope Uzodinma, got the APC governors forum chairman, we thought that by presiding over such important caucus, in fact the foremost power bloc, in any political party in Nigeria is the governors’ forum, and as chairman of the governor’s forum, he had a very intimate access with Mr President, and throughout that period, I didn’t see him in Imo. He had been in Abuja throughout that period.
“We had expected him to be negotiating for the good of the geo-political zones, the south-east, not for his personal preferences.
“And the results had shown that his preferences and that of distinguished senator Umahi were at play.”
“I thought, between Senator Umahi and Governor Hope Uzodinma, as leaders of the south-east, that they could have been more patriotic, more collective in their reasoning, instead of being petty in their negotiation.”
While Okechukwu clarified that he is not a defender of Tinubu, he aimed to counter falsehoods that breed resentment among communities. He emphasized that scapegoating Tinubu alone for marginalization would not contribute to harmony in a diverse society like Nigeria.
He noted that even the individuals that Tinubu had in mind for positions were often rejected due to concerns about potential problems they might pose. Okechukwu attributed the current state of affairs to this narrow-minded approach.
“If I lead my people to think that it’s only Tinubu that marginalized them, that will not help in building harmony in a plural society like ours.
“Even those names that President Tinubu had in mind, they knocked most of them off, that they might constitute a problem in the zone. Pettiness cost us where we are now.”
Okechukwu stated that he doesn’t think the president will be ‘hardened’ if these south-east leaders lobbied for the growth of the south-east considering the president listened to the nudges of certain political power zones in Kano.
