Imo West Senator Rochas Okorocha has promised to mend the relationship between the Igbos and other parts of the country, hat an Igbo presidency is not just given but taken.
The former Imo governor told reporters after his inauguration that such an agenda could not have existed as it was impossible to hand over power to a region without due process.
According to him, his concern is having a president that will better the lot of Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic affiliation.
He said: “Power is not given, power is taken. The Southeast cannot just fold their arms and expect power to be given to them just because you want power. Power does not go with sentiment some of the times; it’s on the issues on ground.
“Democracy is about the people and the Southeast alone cannot make themselves president. So, you cannot be talking about Igbo president, it doesn’t exist. We may be talking about Nigeria’s president of Igbo extraction but that depends on what other geo-political zones think about the issue.
“For me, what is important is let power be given to somebody who has something upstairs who can put food on the table of common man, irrespective of religion or where you come from.”
He noted that the Southeast needs to mend fences across the country in other to remain relevant politically.
“There is need for the Igbos to mend fences. We are neither here nor there now politically. We are not in the ruling party, neither are we making impact in the opposition. So, there is need for us to get married to the rest of the nation politically.”
Okorocha was sworn in yesterday following the issuance of his a certificate of return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The electoral umpire had withheld the certificate on the argument he was declared winner under duress. But, a court ordered the commission to release the certificate to Okorocha.
It was issued on Tuesday, hours after the inauguration of the Ninth Senate.
Promising to focus on three things in the Red Chamber, he said: “I am here to do things dear to my heart. One of them is: the bridge connecting the south east to other ethnic groups seems to be very faulty, resulting from the politics we have played in the south east. It will be my pleasure to reconnect this bridge so that the south east people will move along at the same pace with other geopolitical zones.
“My second mission (at) the National Assembly is to see the possibility of making free education a reality so that the children of the poor can go to school. If I achieve these, I will be glad that I did, as member of the senate.
“The third one – I am concerned about the killings and destruction of lives in the northern part of this country. Whatever we can do on the floor of the Senate, we will to have the executive curb this insurgence. I will be here and happy to work with my colleagues.”
