Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has denied insinuations that he is quarrelling with ministers and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Southeast.
The governor said he is not in conflict with any minister or leader from the zone, adding that whatever he does in politics is borne out of genuine concern for the future of the Igbo nation and how they can take their “rightful position and play the expected role in nation-building”.
Okorocha also said President Muhammadu Buhari will win in the Southeast in 2019.
He said: “The Igbo have come to realise and appreciate the fact that the best politics they can play in 2019 is voting for Buhari.”
Okorocha, who spoke at the Imo International Convention Centre (IICC) in Owerri, the state capital, at a dinner organised for emerging leaders and aspirants in the Southeast for Buhari, stressed that he does not have any personal score to settle with any minister or leader from the Southeast.
He said: “On the home front, there is no goal keeper. All our leaders live in Abuja, even former governors. All our leaders are in Abuja and there is no one to fall back on at home, unlike our contemporaries in the North and West. Muhammadu Buhari is the President, but Shehu Shagari is in Sokoto, Ibrahim Babangida is in Minna, Abdulsalami Abubakar is also in Minna, Niger State. Olusegun Obasanjo is in Ota, Ogun State. Bola Tinubu is in Lagos. They are goal keepers and elder statesmen to their younger ones. They are giving support to their future generations. But for us, our case is different. Our old politicians keep rocking back and forth, usurping the political future of our younger generation.
“So, I am of the firm belief that we should have a new and virile Igbo nation so that the younger ones can begin to take their rightful positions. That’s what we mean by emerging leaders and not that you are not leaders in your own rights.”
He added: “The Igbo must change their style in politics. This is a period for us to have a rethink. I have seen the problem. It is possible that the Igbo can get there. And because we are not together, it seems to be an uphill task.
“There is no better time for Ndigbo to work with singleness of heart than now. We must destroy the fabrics of the Amalekites in Igbo land.”