Minister of Transport, Hon Chibuike Amaechi has called on the Igbos to support President Muhammadu Buhari for second term as a way of giving him the chance to serve out the term of the north and make way for the Igbos.
Amaechi who was at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka as the convocation lecturer to mark its 12th convocation spoke on the topic, “The Igbo in the politics of Nigeria.”
“We are not here for campaign, we are here for an academic exercise. If we were here for campaign, I would not be putting on this (academic gown), but 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 despatch, 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.”
The minister called on the Igbo to rather focus on the solutions to their problems in politics, instead of recriminations, saying that part of the solution was to move into a national party after having been disappointed by sectional parties.
He described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as regional parties which do not hold hope for the Igbos.
The President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr Nnia Nwodo who was also a guest at the lecture, however, punctured some of Amaechi’s claims, saying that Nigeria was not operating as a true federation, as pockets of marginalisation still abounded against the Igbos.
“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 said.
