2023: Igbo Presidency Will Lift Nigeria — Ezeife

Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former governor of Anambra on Thursday in Abuja said that zoning 2023 presidency to the Igbo people will lift Nigeria.

Ezeife said this at a public presentation of two books titled “Good Governance – Instrument for Transformation of a Nation” and “On the Sands of Time’’ written by Dr. Joel Oruche, a veteran journalist and Deputy-Director, Federal Ministry of Information.

According to him, it is only the Igbo people who do not understand that God in heaven has already approved the Igbo presidency 2023.

He added that the Igbo president had been endorsed by other religions and regions adding that he was in a good position to say so because he had contact with the stakeholders.

“We thank the Northerners, Westerners, South-South people, and the Middle belt, especially those who have understood our quest for justice.

“Apart from our quest to lift Nigeria, the Igbo president will also cause explosive developmental discoveries in Nigeria.

“So, others should be begging us to come and be president, not this misunderstanding they are having in Nigeria.’’

Ezeife said that it would be alright if the governor of Ebonyi, Mr. David Umahi, eventually gets the presidency ticket adding that there were also other Igbo people from the same zone qualified for the presidency.

He decried the issue of people jumping from party to party saying it was not the best.

Dr. Dasuki Arabi, Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), speaking on the title of one of the books said that good governance was key to democracy and good governance would not be delivered without a competent public service.

Arabi said that work had been going on to reform the public service so that citizens could enjoy the benefit of good governance.

He said that the Bureau had been able to improve the quality of Public Service delivery and had often evaluated and implemented reform programmes and services.

He said that the bureau’s quest for transparency led to the introduction of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Bank Verification Number (BVN) among other developments to improve transparency and fight corruption.

Accordingly, Arabi said that with the progress already made in the nation’s public service it would undoubtedly be one of the best in the world in the next two decades.

He commended the author for writing the books to show that public servants could play vital roles in nation-building and encouraged other civil servants to do the same.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Mr. Nebeolisa Anako, commended the writer for making out time to write the books adding that the ministry was in full support of his efforts.

Anako said that the author had done civil service and Nigerians proud because it was very important for people to document their experiences in relevant field for people to learn.

The book reviewer, Prof. Adele Junaidu, a professor of political science, said that the author drew the attention of the public to the redemptive and transformative possibilities of good governance.

Junaidu said that the four-chapter book on good governance laid out the elements of good governance and the focus of the book was to advocate for a society where good governance could thrive.

The Author, Dr Oruche, said that he wrote the book so that people could get a deeper understanding of good governance because a lot of people were confusing good governance with other issues.

Oruche said that the books would therefore help Nigerians to know that good governance is what is very important for any society to move forward and to our own country particularly.

He said that with good governance the issues of corruption would be gone because it was one of the factors impeding good governance.

He further explained that the book, On the Sands of Time, is a compendium of articles and commentaries he had written on many aspects of the country’s socio-economic and political issues which were relevant in contemporary Nigeria.

The books were the 15th and 16th, including children’s literature, written by Oruche to help in improving issues in various parts of the globe.

Oruche, currently Head of the media office of the Ecological Fund Office, had occupied the same posts in NEPAD Nigeria, Civil Service Commission, SURE-P, and Ministry of Defence.