Ralph Uwazuruike, leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) led youths in a solidarity march in Owerri, Imo, in support of the 2023 presidential bid of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi.
Mr Uwazuruike, who also said he does not believe in a president of Igbo extraction, said the contest should be thrown open.
The MASSOB leader stated this when Mr Bello, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), visited him in Owerri, Imo
The youths, who started the procession from the MASSOB leader’s house in Owerri, marched through the streets, carrying different placards, with inscriptions such as “Power to the Youths, Support Yahaya Bello”, and “Yahaya Bello for the Youths”, among others.
According to the youths, Mr Bello was the right fit for the position of president, and the aspirant with the solution to Nigeria’s political quagmire.
Mr Uwazuruike advised Nigerians and political parties to shun zoning, stating that his group would support Mr Bello to become the next president of Nigeria.
“All Nigerians should rally round the youthful governor. We are supporting Bello for this and no one else. That he has the capacity to solve the problem of insecurity and a host of others facing the nation is not in doubt.
“This is a crucial time in the history of the country. We must give youths a chance, especially one that has demonstrated uncommon capacity, in the person of Yahaya Bello,” the MASSOB leader said.
Mr Uwazuruike, who is also the founder of Biafran Independent Movement (BIM), said if Nigeria’s sovereignty must be upheld, the idea of Igbo president should be discarded.
“I don’t believe in the idea of a zoning system or Igbo president because zoning means sectionalism.
“If we want to talk about Nigeria, we must throw the presidential contest open but if you throw it open, it must be for the youths not elders, because the elders have failed us.
Speaking, Mr Bello expressed gratitude over the reception given to him by the members of MASSOB/BIM who welcomed him to the state.
