But they are also seekitng the governor to lead them to a crucial meeting with Tinubu to discuss burning issues that concern the Igbo living in the North.
The Group made the declarations when they visited Governor Uzodimma in Owerri on Thursday, December, 2022 at Government House.
“We want to tell the world that it is not true that Igbos don’t have or respect Leaders. That is why we want everybody to know that because of your antecedents and your love for Ndigbo, we have decided that you are our leader and we shall follow you all the way” , the President General of the group, Dr. Collins Ajali, declared.
Addressing the members, Governor Uzodimma commended them for their love of APC and assured them that they made the right decision. He reiterated that his head has continued preach for peace and unity of Nigeria, adding that the APC is the right national party to accommodate the interest of Ndigbo.
“Our people that are agitating for secession or ethnic politics don’t consider the risk they are putting the lives of Igbos in Northern Nigeria and their investments and businesses,” Governor Uzodimma said.
He emphasized his believe in the unity of Nigeria, saying that the Igbos are better off in Nigerian project.
The Governor highlighted that the Igbos have a lot of talents yet to be harnessed, “a determined spirit to succeed anywhere they are,” noting that such ambition could be realised in a broader Nigerian.
The Governor thanked the members for the confidence the group has reposed in him and assured that he will not disappoint their expectations.
Furthermore, he reminded them that the unity they are seeking for in the Nigerian project is the reason for the formation of APC and that as commanders outside Igboland they will be veritable tools for mobilizing Igbos in the Diaspora.
The Governor encouraged them not to accept that they are strangers anywhere they are in the country, assuring them that wherever they are the Federal Government, State government and their brothers will be there to protect them.
He also assured them that they will be rewarded for their hard work and positive contributions to the unity of the Nation and success of APC in the forthcoming election.
The Governor accepted their request to be their Grand Patron.
In their address presented by their Leader, Dr. Collins Chibueze Ajali, members of the Group also promised to unanimously use their platform and network to work for the re-election of the Governor in 2023.
“After considering the political situation of today and the forthcoming Presidential election, we have unanimously decided to work for the success of the ruling All Progressive Congress Party (APC) and its Presidential Candidate, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu in the forthcoming Presidential election.”
Dr. Ajali said that the decision was taken because of their conviction that APC has the greatest chances of winning the election.
They also used the opportunity to inform the Governor of their core interest in desiring to work for APC which is “to bring in a government that will finally and permanently terminate the daily threats that the Igbos in the North are being confronted with on daily basis.”
Again, they informed the Governor of their intention to have a Town Hall Meeting with the APC Presidential Candidate in Abuja and requested the Governor to facilitate the meeting
They recalled the several gestures of the Governor to the Igbos in the North in the past for which made them repose repose their confidence in his leadership, insisting that those past gestures had made them to depend on the Governor for patriotic and selfless guide, defense and leadership
One of such gestures of Governor Uzodimma, they said was in 2017 when the Northern Youth Leaders gave Quit Notice to the Igbos in the North and the role the Governor played in terminating that chaos and catastrophe.
They said as the Governor is the APC South East Leader it means they must respect and follow his leadership.