Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) South-East geopolitical zone, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has dismissed the statement by Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha that Ndigbo only have themselves to blame for their exclusion in appointments made by President Muhamadu Buhari.
Okechukwu said this in reaction to an interview granted to a national daily by Okorocha, published yesterday.
Okorocha said he shared the sentiments of the Igbo that none of them made the list of appointees. However, he added that “some of the appointments we lost was of the doings of our people.” He recalled that when he was crying like a lonely voice in the wilderness that could see where Nigeria was headed, Ndigbo chose to put all their eggs in one basket.
But, in a statement on Sunday, Okechukwu said Okorocha should take responsibility for Igbo exclusion in the appointments, rather than passing the buck to Ndigbo.
“I am sorry to comment on the blame game being played by, Owelle Rochas Okorocha; for his interview can be classified as Okorocha Recue Mission from the less than five percent score in the 2015 presidential election from the entire South East,” Okechukwu said in a statement titled, ‘Governor Rochas Okorocha neither truly campaigned for President Buhari nor APC’.
“All one can say is that to the best of my knowledge, he neither truly campaigned for President Muhammadu Buhari nor the All Progressives Congress.
“My thinking is that while we blame Ndigbo for putting all our eggs in one basket, we should blame our leaders who genuinely didn’t campaign for President Buhari nor APC candidates in their domain.
“I challenge Governor Okorocha to tell the world how far he assisted Senator Osita Izunaso for his bid for Orlu senatorial district, his own constituency and that of Hons Uche Onyeguocha and Uwajimogu of Owerri and Okigwe districts respectively,” Okechukwu stated.
Okechukwu noted had Governor Okorocha assisted the aspirants, APC could have gotten two senatorial seats, and other legislative seats.
“This is a man some of us advised not to run against the zoning convention, that it will deny Ndigbo the chance of producing either the chairman or the vice presidential slot and he refused. He thought we are in Nollywood,” the APC zonal spokesman said.
He, therefore, called on Okorocha to henceforth desist from the blame game and accept responsibility for the fate of Ndigbo in Buhari’s appointments.
“If Okorocha worked for APC in the South-East, how come we did not even win a single senatorial seat in Imo and the entire zone?” Okechukwu asked.
