A coalition of socio-political groups in
the South-East has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to fulfill the
promises he made to the Igbo or risk losing their support in the
forthcoming presidential election.
The associations that formed the
coalition are Igbo Traders Congress, Igbo Women Assembly, Umuada Ala
Igbo, Igbo Students Association, Igbo Youth Movement, South-East Self
Determination Coalition and Eastern Christian Council.
The National President of the Igbo Women
Assembly and a member of Igbo Leaders of Thought, Mrs. Maria Okwor,
noted that the Igbo were not happy with the way they were being treated
by the Federal Government.
According to her, the Igbo had not been rewarded for the bloc of votes given to Jonathan in 2011.
Okwor said the Igbo expected a lot from the President but he had yet to meet the high expectations.
She said, “We are not happy that we are
being taken for granted and we will like him (Jonathan) to make concrete
promises to us and start something, not just promises.
“Right now, we are considering so many
options because we want the people who will recognise our existence and
who will solve our problems – we are not recognised.”
The women leader urged Jonathan to start
redeeming outstanding promises that he made to the Igbo, before the
forthcoming elections.
“The East/West rail line they promised to build for us, will it happen?
“When will it happen? Can it be started before this tenure ends so that we can have something to hope for?
“Otherwise, we might have some alternatives because there are other parties that can help us achieve our objectives,” she said.
She also expressed reservations over the
state of infrastructure in the South East. She further noted with
regrets that the Enugu-Onitsha expressway was still not motorable.
Okwor also frowned on what she described
as the way Jonathan had been reaching out to the Igbo through some
businessmen like Arthur Eze and Ifeanyi Uba, saying “whereas the Igbo
have credible leaders like Prof. Ben Nwabueze, a former Vice President,
Alex Ekwueme, and others.”
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