A pan-Igbo pressure group, the Movement for the Actualization of South-East Presidency (MASEP) Monday pledged its support for the actualization of a second term in office for President Muhammadu Buhari.
The group said having taken a cursory look at the political dynamics in the land, it is convinced that a President of Igbo extraction would be realised in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). At a press conference in Abuja on Monday, spokesperson of the group, Humphrey Onyima said a two-term for Buhari would facilitate the bid of the Igbo to have one of its own occupy the highest political office in the country.
“Our main reason is to get the north to see out her tenure and let the South-East take the lead in 2023. Thus, a Buhari presidency would guarantee that of the South-East come 2023,” he said, noting that the construction of the Second Niger Bridge by the President Buhari administration is one democratic dividend the South-East geo-political zone would not forget in a hurry.
Onyima continued: “The construction of the three-phase Second Niger Bridge is on course. The bridge will by-pass Onitsha and Asaba to connect to the Owerri-Onitsha expressway at Nkwerre-Ezunaka and, then, cross Atani to the Asaba-Benin Expressway at Okpanam, with a total length of 44 kilometres.”
MASEP also justified its solidarity for Buhari on key achievements recorded within its less than three years in office, particularly the fight against insurgency and earnings from the sale of crude oil at the international market.
“To the credit of this government, between June 2015 and July 2017, it has earned $58billion in oil revenue, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.
“While we would refrain from making comparisons, it is imperative to point out that the payment of contractor liabilities running into trillions (of naira) is ongoing, Boko Haram is being given the desired attention, massive development of rail transportation is ongoing, the age-long clashes between herdsmen and farmers are being addressed by the government, amongst others.
“Power generation is on the rise, as more power plants are coming on stream. The Azura Power Plant in Edo is a great example. Work has started on the Mambilla 3,050 megawatt hydro-electric dam abandoned for the past 35 years, while the stalled Zungeru 700MW hydro-electric power project is due for completion in 2019. The transmission and other requirements to operate the 30MW Gurara Phase 1 hydroelectric plant, the 40MW Kashimbilla hydro-electric plant and the 215MW Kaduna Gas/LPG/Diesel power plants will all be completed before 2019.
“This government has set a target of ending fuel importation by 2019. Licenses have been issued to 10 modular refineries with a refining capacity of 30,000 barrels per day and total refining capacity of 300,000. The pre-fabricated part of Amakpe modular refinery in Akwa Ibom has been containerised and is being shipped to Nigeria,” Onyima added.
The group said with the likes of Igbo leaders as former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, incumbent Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, and ex-Senate President, Ken Nnamani and several others, the Igbo ethnic nationality is ready to take over the leadership of the country in 2023 at the expiration of Buhari’s second term in office should he choose to seek a second term in 2019.
