He urged Ndigbo to cooperate with the new Nigeria government being formed so as not to create an impression that the region has chosen to be in constant antagonisim against the federal government once it’s not one of their own that is at the helm of affairs.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s spokesman in the South East, Dr. Josef Onoh has urged the Igbo elites to take it easy not to open confrontation with the incoming Federal government, so as not to be in the cooler as the region was in the outgoing government.
Onoh was reacting to the the statement credited to the former Governor of Enugu state and former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, who lamented that the incoming administration of Senator Bola Tinubu was already giving the southeast ‘a slice of socked bread’ as the President-elect declared during his January campaign in Enugu.
But Onoh said that Igbo should not be hasty in making inflammatory speeches, noting that it was too early in the day for the south east to pose as opposition once again to the federal government.
He re-echoed that the incoming Tinubu administration will be a government for everyone and all parts of Nigeria, stressing that the composition of the transition Committee was the duty of the incumbent administration which should not be used as a yard stick to judge the Tinubu’s government in the waiting.
According to Onoh, the people of the south east should not express much worry, assuring that Tinubu is not into dirty politics as he never offered the Igbo any socked bread, rather the Igbo chose to soak their bread themselves.
“But irrespective of that, we have always said that inauguration is not Asiwaju’s business, but by the present government, hence the Igbo have nothing to fear. I can assure our people that Asiwaju will not be discriminatory in his government.
“Irrespective of the fact that Asiwaju performed abysmally poor in the presidential election conducted in the states of the south east, where enough support was not given to him to emerge as president, I can vouch and assure our people that politics has come and gone and Asiwaju is now the President-elect and would soon be sworn-in as president and I can assure us that he would be a President of United Nigeria,” Onoh said.
He maintained that the incoming Asiwaju-led government can only be judged when it has been sworn-in and not by actions prior to the formation of the government, stressing that the bulk of a transition committee rests squarely on the incumbent administration other than the yet to be inaugurated one.
He urged Ndigbo to cooperate with the new Nigeria government being formed so as not to create an impression that the region has chosen to be in constant antagonisim against the federal government once it’s not one of their own that is at the helm of affairs.
“There is no point politicizing the inauguration committee which is being done in bad faith just to create a political divide. The inauguration committee is not an appointment; the members do not represent substantive appointment, but a mere selection to pilot a transition period. The committee does not determine the outlook of any government. One thing people should understand is that Mohammadu Buhari is still the President of Nigeria and we cannot have two presidents at a time and the outgoing administration is the one responsible for the inauguration of the incoming government.
“The Buhari government has the right to appropriate and designate responsibilities as it pleases and these responsibilities do not represent a bias or aimed at isolating any particular segment of the country. It is therefore wrong for people to politicize the composition of a mere transition council. The composition is not aimed at the isolation of any particular ethnic nationality, it’s not an appointment,” Onoh said.
He maintained that the incoming Asiwaju-led government can only be judged when it has been sworn-in and not by actions prior to the formation of the government, stressing that the bulk of a transition committee rests squarely on the incumbent administration other than the yet to be inaugurated one.