Notwithstanding, they said that the South East zone would participate massively in the 2023 general elections.
“We are terribly disappointed. We are disappointed that there seems to be a conspiracy by the two major political parties to deny Igbo the opportunity to produce a presidential candidate. The parties all agreed that zoning should be North and South, and Ohaneze believed that if it is coming to the South, since Southwest has gone, South South has gone, it is now our turn.
“Ohaneze did everything possible to convince the South West and convince the South South and they all agreed that it will be turn of South East. Their leaders, (Ayo) Adebanjo and Edwin Clark, all of them made press statements and confirmed that they will support Igbo candidate, even the Middle Belt agree to support Igbo candidate.
“But unfortunately the political class took another decision, so we feel terribly betrayed not by the elders but by this political people because we are sure that the elders in the whole South and Middle Belt supported Igbo candidature.
“So, it is our view, strong view that, this zoning should be put in the constitution and it should be rotated among the six geopolitical zone, ” they stated.
The elders, who observed a minute silence in honour of those, who died in recent attack on the St Francis Catholic Church, in Owo, Ondo, by gunmen, expressed worry that the entire country is now being ravaged by insecurity and called on the government to rise to the challenge.
