Emeka Ojukwu Jnr, son of Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, the late respected Igbo leader, says the All Progressives Congress (APC) is part of the ethnic group.
The APC is seen as a northern Hausa-Fulani party by some Igbo.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who is not very popular among the Igbo, is a member of the party.
However, at a campaign rally in Anambra state on November 16, Ojukwu Jnr announced his decision to join the APC.
His decision was a major shift in the political dynamics of the state.
Speaking at an event held to formally welcome him to the party in Abuja on Wednesday, Ojukwu Jnr said his decision to join the APC was “driven by his belief that the south-east must occupy its rightful place in the national governance and the political decision making process of the country”.
“I decided to lead by example. I have been talking about this for a while and I decided it was time to take the step forward. It is a challenge, there are some people that will not be happy about that, but you have to be bold, take a step and let people understand where you are coming from and why you are doing what you are doing,” he said.
“APC have been seen in our part of the country as the ‘other’ and I believe we are now showing that the APC is a party that can contend equally with any other party in the south-east and do just as well. We now know that Igbo people are part of the APC, the APC are part of Igbo and Igbo are valued part of the Nigerian nation. We hit around the 25 percent mark in terms of votes in the Anambra election which is not bad given where we are coming from. I think in the future, we are going to do a lot better.”
Ojukwu Jnr was received into the party by John Oyegun, national chairman of the APC, and other chieftains of the party.
