Nwodo silences Amaechi on Buhari campaign in Anambra

• Says Nigeria is in a state of war no one declared

The President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr Nnia Nwodo, at the 12th convocation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, on Wednesday, rebuked the Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi, when he diverted from the business of the day to campaign for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and why the Igbo nation must vote for him in 2019. Nwodo told Amaechi to rather go back to Abuja and tell his government that Nigeria is in a state of war that no one declared; observing that inequity and injustice perpetuated by the APC government threaten national integration.

Amaechi was the Guest Speaker at the 12th Convocation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. He attracted the wrath of the people when he craftily turned his speech on “The Igbo in the politics of Nigeria” into open campaign for the reelection of President Buhari; telling the Igbo to vote Buhari in 2019 for second term to serve out the term of the North, and thereafter, facilitate the election of an Igbo president in 2023.

The Minister of Transport first scolded the Igbo that they did not vote Buhari but voted for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015, yet, Buhari is working hard to develop Igbo land which, he said, PDP did not do.

“We must tell ourselves the truth about what Buhari has done. You (Igbos) did not vote for Buhari, true or false? You voted for PDP and what did they do for you? PDP abandoned the Enugu-Onitsha expressway since 1999, but Buhari is working on it with dispatch, true or false.

 “Buhari is working on the second Niger Bridge, he is working on the Otuocha-Ibaji-Abuja road, he is working on the Abakaliki-Onueke road, he is working on the Oji-Achi-Naku road in Enugu State, he is working on Ozalla-Akpugo-Amagunze road. He is also working on Aba-Ikot Ekpene road. Under Buhari, all major cities of the south east are captured in the existing railway project. Name one government that has done up to this within two years. Our problem is that we are just being emotional,” Amaechi highlighted.

The minister cajoled the Igbo to join the APC which he said is the national party in Nigeria, relegating the PDP which controls most states in the South East, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) which controls Anambra, to regional parties.

Unfortunately, Amaechi was not allowed to influence the people and pollute their thinking.

Dr.  Nwodo, President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, chided the Amaechi over his claims; he admonished the minister that  the federal government should treat all Nigerians as equal irrespective of whether they gave their votes to the APC or not.

“I am yet to see a federation in which the security apparatus is domiciled in one section of the country. Doing so has not also solved the security problems of the country.

“Our country is in a state of war, with no one declaring it. I refuse to agree with you that people should join a federal movement as you said. If our constitution is not revisited for people to live and feel safe, then, we are wasting our time.

“Honourable minister, I urge you to fight for us. We are the true Nigerians. Whether we voted left or right, our behavioural pattern has shown confidence in Nigeria.

“Help us talk to your people and make them understand that whatever views they held during the war, tell them that the war is over,” Nwodo declared.

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