2015: Okeke, former police commission boss, gives conditions for Igbo to support Jonathan

Although the south east states have made President Goodluck Jonathan their consensus candidate for the 2015 presidential election, this is not without a condition, says one of the Igbo leaders and former Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Chief Simon Okeke.

According to, Okeke, President Jonathan should pay more attention on infrastructural development of the South-East in his second tenure, including construction of railway lines to run from Onitsha to Lagos covering other parts of Igbo land, uplifting Akanu Ibiam airport to a “real” international airport, ensuring a functional wharf at the River Niger, among other things.

And above all ensures that an Igbo man succeeds him as president in 2019.  Excerpt:

What is this mad rush to endorse President Goodluck Jonathan, especially in the South East for second tenure?

I think his endorsement properly confirmed what has been the trend over the last 10 years.  That indicates that Jonathan indeed is Dr “Goodluck”. Goodluck has been following him.  I think that has been shown clearly.  Otherwise, I have not seen where a candidate has been so endorsed even before he signifies his interest.  That shows good luck, good luck following him, very interesting and I like it. Right from the time he became a deputy governor in Bayelsa State, good luck followed him to become governor, from governor to vice president and from there he became acting president and from acting president I was one of the first Nigerians to call the National Assembly to invoke the Doctrine of Necessity to make him a substantive acting president.  He was made acting president and by divine intervention he became president according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and he has been enjoying a wonderful goodwill of good luck and God’s intervention. He has been endorsed both by Ohanaeze Ndigbo as you said and other worthwhile organizations or bodies starting from the political parties that he and I belong to, the PDP.

He has been endorsed.  TAN has actualized that by collection of millions of signatories from all the states of the country.  So, it is imperative that he is very much wanted.  Whether you like it or not you have to obey the voice of God.  God wants him to finish up the work he has started.  I agree entirely that he has to run for his second tenure.

Is he running without negotiation with the Igbo who have given him maximum support?

You are talking about his running without negotiation.  Yes, again that is part of the good luck that is following him, otherwise there is no known political history where you give 100 per cent vote in return for nothing.  We have given him the go -ahead. Ohanaeze has done so, although later on there was a cold feet being developed somewhere in Ohanaeze, he has been endorsed.  And various groups in Anambra State have given their endorsement including the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) which says it has no candidate for presidency but can contest other positions.  There was no negotiation.  I believe if it is a mistake, it will be put right as he comes for the second journey.

So, what are the expectations of the Igbo as Jonathan goes for second term?

Number one, I will expect, and I believe every Igbo man will expect immediate actualization of the sixth state in Igbo land so as to balance the equation in the country.  It is only South East that has five states, other zones have got six and above.  We would like him to use his position as president to correct what has been accepted as clear marginalization against the Igbo.  That’s one. Two, I would expect that it is not just second Niger Bridge and Enugu Airport, but second Niger Bridge with incorporating railway line running from Onitsha to Lagos and from Onitsha passing through Nnewi down to Owerri, Umuahia, Calabar and Akwa Ibom, connecting various parts of Igbo land by railway line, standard gauge for that matter. I would expect that a proper international airport will be built in Enugu because what is there now, the buildings there, are like warehouses.  I don’t see anything international in what I see there, including the runway. I have not seen any federal presence in Igbo land as far as I know.

So, Jonathan can use his position as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to right the injustices meted out to the South East; just because we lost the war. Now, economically, politically and otherwise, we a lagging behind. There should be expectation of restoration of Igbo dignity in various spheres of human endeavour. I would expect the Onitsha sea port to be made functional, the River Niger drained and extend to the ocean so that ocean liners would move into Onitsha. It is possible.  The Igbo are known for merchandize, we are known for trading.  We expect a proper sea port in Onitsha, in Oguta so that ships will move down here and bring in goods to the East. I would expect mega industries put up at strategic places in Igbo land. There should be a petrochemical industry around Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi and then a mega refinery put up between Abia and Imo to absorb the crude these places are producing. Abia and Imo are oil producing states and Anambra is joining them.  Anambra has to be made real oil producing state so that it can benefit from the Niger Delta Development Corporation (NDDC) like other oil producing states.  Our youths are migrating to other parts of the world because they have nothing to sustain them here.

Then I would expect Mr President to use his power of incumbency to ensure that the next president after him will come from core Igbo land and use his position to hand over to no other person than an Igbo man. An Igbo man has not become the president of this country except when briefly the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe became a ceremonial president of Nigeria.  That is the way we want it. Any other ethnic group can wait.

The Sun