Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar is responsible for the unrest in the southeast.
Okechukwu argued that if Atiku had obeyed the zoning agreement and allowed the presidential candidate to emerge from the south, it would have given the region a sense of belonging.
The elder statesman shared his thoughts during an interview with The Sun.
He insisted that tranquillity would have returned to the region if the PDP had fielded a presidential candidate from the southeast.
Okechukwu argued that the region would have shunned the idea of sit-at-home on Mondays and talks about Nnamdi Kanu and Sam Ekpa if there was an equitable electoral battle.
According to him, “Insecurity in the South East is subsisting because of Atiku’s unforced error. If he had obeyed the zoning convention whether we won or lost, peace, tranquillity, and sense of belonging could have returned to the region. Atiku further fuelled the marginalisation mentality of my people. That’s my grouse; we could have dropped the idea of every Monday sit-at-home on Monday, or talk of Nnamdi Kalu or Sam Ekpe, after an equitable electoral battle, loss or win.
“I have great respect for Atiku. He is a good friend to one of my big brothers, Dubem Onyia, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Chuba Okadigbo, one of my political mentors. Yes, I said so and I repeat that Atiku wittingly or unwittingly breached the subsisting agreement, which binds our fledgling democracy and our fragile unity. Agreement of rotation of power from North to South is an agreement whether written or oral.
“As an elder statesman, and veteran politician, he should have adhered to the rule of law; if you stretch it further, his in-laws, South East, who actually it’s their turn in the PDP calculus. The micro-zoning narrative maintains that out of the three geopolitical zones of the South, the South West and South South had presided over Nigeria since the advent of the 4th Republic Nigeria in 1999, leaving South East in the limbo.
“Atiku threw caution to the winds, shunted even Peter Obi, one of the sane ones in the rank of the PDP, who was his running mate. Imagine if he backed Obi in the PDP presidential primary election; Obi could have emerged.”