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Igbo Ndewo Nu! |
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Igbo Ndewo Nu! |
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PRESS RELEASE
Saturday, December 28, 2002
PNF USA, INC. ENDORSES DR. ALEX IFEANYICHUKWU EKWUEME FOR PRESIDENT OF FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
Pan Ndi-Igbo Foundation USA, Inc. (PNF USA, INC.) has reviewed and evaluated the credentials of all the presidential aspirants, including General Olusegun Obasanjo, and found Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme to be the best presidential candidate in all categories for Nigeria at this time. Nigeria has reached a crossroad and it will take someone like Dr. Alex Ekwueme to take the country to the right direction.
In making our decision, we considered the state of the economy, healthcare, education, infrastructure, rural development,
roads, law and order, and security. Also one can fairly conclude the level of poverty in Nigeria has been on the
increase since General Obasanjo took office. Most people are living in deplorable conditions. We equally noticed
an escalation of religious and ethnic violence since the inception of General Obasanjo’s administration. It is
pertinent to note that political corruption has been on the increase, while Nigeria’s image abroad suffers tremendously.
Therefore, we implore our brothers and sisters from South-East, South-South, South-West, Delta, Rivers, North-East,
North-West, North-Central, and all other presidential candidates to support Dr. Alex Ekwueme. In our opinion, Ekwueme
will be the president of every Nigerian no matter one’s political, ethnic, religious or philosophical persuasion.
He is a leader with vision!
We are encouraging Ohaneze to take a bold step in endorsing a candidate that stands a better chance of being elected.
We should realize that timing in politics or in almost everything is very critical. The waiting game is not helpful
in this instance. We have to act in a timely manner. The time is now for Ohaneze to act. PNF USA admires all the
candidates, but we have to choose one candidate.
Pan Ndi-Igbo Foundation USA, Inc. (PNF USA, INC.) is incorporated in the State of Texas, USA as a political organization.
PNF USA, Inc. is a platform for the articulation, development, promotion, and protection of the POLITICAL interests of Ndi Igbo. PNF USA will ensure that
in carrying out the public business of the nation (Nigeria) there is equity and fairness. Also, it seeks to develop
and promote the establishment of honest IGBO political leaders with the objective of providing good government through eradication of corruption
and active investments in education, infrastructure, research and development, and the environment. PNF USA, Inc.
is also a pressure group that works in collaboration with other Igbo organizations. PNF will ensure, as much as possible, that honest candidates
of Igbo ethnic extraction are well organized. PNF provides an opportunity for the people of IGBO origin an organization in which to gain an education
in political affairs, knowledge of current events, and an opportunity to contribute toward good government through
active participation.
Nigeria, under General Olusegun Obasanjo, does not have a road map for her economic recovery. The administration’s present approach to our economic predicament is enigmatic at best. No constructive economic policy is in place to address the economic woes of the country. Professor Anya O. Anya echoed this fact as reported in ThisDay on December 11, 2002 when he said that Nigeria may go bankrupt in 2003. In Professor Anya’s words as reported by Kola Ologbondiyan, he asserted this, "Presently, the Nigerian economy is showing critical signs of distress. Inflation as at September 2002 was 14.8 per cent and industrial utilisation was about 41 per cent as at October 2002. Also, the foreign reserve declined from N10 billion as at December 2001 to its present level of about N7 billion.” "Although interest rate has been brought down by fiat at 22.5 per cent (which is still high), it is clearly unsustainable because it has not arisen from strong micro-economic fundamentals," The economic situation of the country will continue to worsen if drastic action is not taken. The Vanguard newspaper reported on December 18, 2002 that Chief Joseph Sanusi, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) scored the economy very low citing that the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) for 2002 grew less than the previous years. In the same newspaper, it was reported that he also stated that the deficit for the first 10 months of 2002 was N47.5 billion.
The present administration will incinerate the hopes and aspirations of the citizens with the economic choke-hold emanating from its policies. The leadership style of the present administration is not congruent with the leadership qualities necessary to resuscitate the Nigerian economy. Nigeria is now experiencing the worst unemployment rate in her history. People are hopeless! General Ibrahim Babangida, a Nigerian statesman, agrees with this premise as reported in GUARDIAN on December 18, 2002, when he said, "The situation in the country today indicates that there is much more work to do in the process of reforming the political economy and improving the quality of life of our people and communities." We believe that for General Obasanjo to importunately run for a second term is not admirable and it is destablizing to the nation.
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), about 70%
of the population live in poverty.
There is no middleclass in the country to jumpstart the economy. Niyi Bello reported in The Guardian of
There is no sustainable educational program for the nation. The educational programs are in ruin by consistent
strikes by teachers for nonpayment of salaries, university students on extended strikes for one reason or another,
and extended closing of schools and universities. These maladies will hamper economic, technological, and socio-political
development for many years to come. For the Nigeria’s nascent democracy to flourish and be sustained a democratic
change is paramount.
There is a plethora of issues affecting the nation and there seems to be no meaningful or serious plans or programs
to address these issues. General Olusegun Obasanjo has invariably run out of ideas to address the economic, political,
and social issues facing the nation. He and his team lack fecundity for an upward
The yearning for a change cuts across ethnic, political, and religious backgrounds. Nigeria wants someone with
fresh ideas to reverse the course because General Obasanjo has run out of ideas. Nigeria under President Ekwueme
will be a total different nation that will witness the improvements in economy, poverty alleviation, roads, rural
development, healthcare, education, infrastructure, technology, foreign investment, constructive foreign policy,
ethnic and religious relations, agriculture, and a host of other variables. For the interest of our nation, it
is incumbent upon all Nigerians to support Dr. Alex Ekwueme’s candidacy for president of Nigeria. He is the only
one at this time among the crowd who has the proclivity to address the multi-complex issues facing Nigeria today.
In fact, this is the propitious time to change the course.
We will be imbued with the spirit of nationalism when General Obasanjo will once again hand over power to another
civilian government, but this time to Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme. That act alone will forever inscribe General
Olusegun Obasanjo’s name in the history book and archive of both Nigeria and Africa.
Iheanacho "Acho" Orabuchi, Ph.D.
Geoffrey Nzeadibe
Clement Umeakuana, JD
National Chairman National Secretary National Legal Adviser
214.957.4654
Ngozi Echebelem
National PRO
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