Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has maintained that Igbos will not kneel before the Northerners or any group for the 2023 Presidency.

According to the Igbo Cultural group, it is the North that is supposed to be on its knees begging for an Igbo for President in 2023, considering its failure to resuscitate itself since 2015.

Ohanaeze stated this in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro on Wednesday.

Isiguzoro further reiterated that 2023 will be peaceful and all political ailments and security maladies will be healed in Nigeria only if an Igbo man will be allowed to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Isiguzoro, any imposition, manipulation, or ethnic dominance against the South especially the old Eastern Nigeria may spell doom for the country and will fuel chaos and disintegration of the country.

“We watched keenly as juveniles of darkness and elders of marauders take on Revered Igbo Elder statesman Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife over his standpoint on 2023, IGBO will never kneel for anyone to be President in 2023, we will explore all options available before us, as there are ongoing backstage engagements and negotiations on the way with all sections of the country especially with the real owners of the North.

“Our suspicions were reinforced by the way Northern groups especially ACF (Arewa Consultative Forum) and NEF (Northern Elders Forum) are agitated whenever issues arise that will favour the Igbo.

“We are aware of the ugly patterns adopted by ACF and NEF to discredit, undermine and thwart benefits or schemes that will favour the East. We have traditional allies in the North, but we will trace the roots of the matter. Why does northern leadership resort to blackmail, confrontation with crooked offensive onslaughts against the Southeast irrespective of the level of development and investment Igbo have brought to the north?

“Whatever it takes, Igbo will not kneel before any group. Rather it is the North that should be on their knees begging for an Igbo President in 2023. After all, the North has failed to resuscitate itself from the self-inflicted wounds of insecurity that they imported for political purposes in 2015.

“No northern President in 2023 can save the north, rather it’s a deceptive old order of a few northern elites to squander Nigeria’s resources to the detriment of Nigerians.

“Kneeling is a Northern cultural way of life and forbidden to Eastern Nigeria. The only way we can continue to work as one Nigeria is for the North to champion an Igbo presidency for 2023. “There’s no other tribe that will rebuild the North except Igbo, there is no other tribe with a huge population, investments and had contributed in the past for the progress and development of the North except the Igbo.

“With this evidence and facts about Igbo being partners in progress and traditional allies to the North, there is nothing to lose or fear for the North to discard the rise of Biafra agitators who are reacting to the nepotism and security threats to the east. These will fizzle out immediately an Igbo succeed Buhari in 2023.”