There seems to be no place for Igbos, one of Nigeria’s three major ethnic groups, in the leadership of the country’s emergent mega opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). The same goes for Igbos’ neighbours, the people of the South-South geopolitical zone.

A list of interim leaders of the party released in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, has no Igbo or South-Southerner among APC’s top leadership. The party is also likely to choose its presidential candidate from outside the South-East and South-South, according to sources.

This is despite the fact that Igbo political heavyweights such as Imo State Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha and Senator representing Anambra Central, Dr. Chris Ngige, are founding members of APC. Worse, Okorocha angered many of his kinsmen by splitting the Igbo party APGA (All Progressives Grand Alliance) and leading a faction of it into the APC. Ngige is of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

The APC interim executive features ACN national chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, as national chairman and ACN’s national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, as the national publicity secretary. The post of APC acting national legal adviser goes to ACN’s Dr. Muiz Banire.
Other top officers in the list of nominees adopted Monday night by the merging opposition parties include the following:

From the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) – Alhaji Tijani Musa Tunmsa (national secretary); retired General Abdullahi Aboki (national vice-chairman); Captain Bala Jibril (national deputy auditor); Mr. A. Lado (national youth leader); and Mrs. Sharon Chiazor (national women’s leader).

And from the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai (acting deputy national secretary); Mrs. Sadiya Farouq (national treasurer); and James Ocholi (deputy legal adviser).
APGA has been allocated the posts of national organising secretary, deputy national chairman (south), deputy national financial secretary, deputy national women’s leader, one vice-chairman, and one ex-officio member.

The smallest member of the merging parties, the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), got the positions of national auditor and deputy national secretary.

•Photo shows APC’s national chairman-designate, Chief Bisi Akande.

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