The Director-General, Nigeria Film Corporation (NFC), Dr Chidia Maduekwe, says President Muhammadu Buhari is fine with an Igbo man becoming the next President of the country.
Maduekwe said this during an interaction with newsmen in his Ohafia countryhome in Abia State, to mark his 68th birthday. His birthday celebration was originally on October 15.
“It is not true that the president does not want a president of Igbo extraction, rather he is supportive of the cause,” Maduekwe said.
He added: “In 2007, he (Buhari) also selected another prominent Igbo man, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, as his running mate (after having chosen Dr. Chuba Okadigbo in 2003).
“It is possible that either of these two Igbo personalities could have succeeded him, if Buhari was elected in 2003 or 2007.”
With President Buhari having been elected to the office of president twice, he is ineligible for reelection. In July 2021, national All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Chairman and Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni backed the consensus method of nominating a presidential candidate instead of the more common direct or indirect primary methods. There is no announced formal zoning agreement for the APC nomination, however, there have been calls from certain politicians and interest groups such as the Southern Governors’ Forum to zone the nomination to the South as Buhari, a Northerner, was elected twice.
