SOUTH EAST Patriots’ Assembly (SEPA) which supported Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the just-concluded presidential election has described as timely, relieving and reassuring the formal entry of Southeast’s and Souh south’s longest serving senator and oldest principal national officer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Osita Izunaso, into the race for the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly, saying that the development has raised huge hopes of the Southeast in mainstream national politics to fast track the growth and development of the region.
SEPA’s Chief Media Strategist, Hon. Emeka Nwankpa, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said that Senator Osita Izunazo’s widely-publicized visit on Tuesday to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa where he officially announced his intention to run for the seat has received wide applause and acclamation among indigenes and friends of the Southeast region as well as the entire Igbo race across the world.
Hon. Emeka Nwankpa noted that one of the major troubling questions being raised since Senator Chimaroke Nnamani’s recent loss at the polls was, ‘’is there no other ranking senator of Igbo extraction that has age, credibility, competence, unblemished public service record, wide acceptance, vibrancy and total commitment to the cause of the Ndigbo other than a few questionable characters being bandied about?’’.
‘’We at SEPA enjoin other forward-looking Ndigbo to rally round Senator Osita Izunaso who is widely seen as the most eligible, credible, qualified and a true representative of the character of Ndigbo. He is a calm, personable, peaceful, hard-working and highly enterprising man imbued with high moral ethical standards in public office.
‘’As Senate President, Osita Izunaso will walk in the true footsteps and tradition of former high flying patriots and former Igbo senators such as Ken Nnamani, Pius Anyim, Chuba Okadigbo and Arthur Nzeribe whose excellent public service records and commitment to the unity and progress of Nigeria and Ndigbo were not in doubt.
‘’It is worth mentioning that since Senator Osita Izunaso lost his renewed bid to the Senate some years ago, he resorted to fate and remained a loyal party man working assiduously for his party to gain ascendancy in his native Imo State and the entire Southeast in a bid to push the crusade that the region should leave political relegation for the big league. Today, the region stands at the threshold of history with the President-elect Bola Asiwaju who cherishes loyalty which Osinazo epitomizes.
‘’Again, another auspicious and strategic opportunity has been given the Ndigbo to determine the future of their political direction by queuing behind Senator Osita Izunaso as their best political foot forward in the race to fill this important seat that many people across all divides have canvassed should be zoned to the Southeast for equity, fairness and inclusiveness.
The group also paid glowing tribute to other Southeast senators whose names have been mentioned in the race but it maintained that Senator Osita Izunaso eminently ticks the boxes and fits the bill on account of the fact that he is Southeast’s longest serving ranking senator in line with the rules of the Upper Chamber. Again, he is also oldest principal national officer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in fact, the party’s premier National Organizing Secretary who was in charge of APC’s electoral victory in 2015.
‘’Senator Osita Izunaso started his legislative career in te House of Representatives before moving to the Senate in 2007. This makes a rooted law maker versed in the nuances of law making as a tool for national unity, integration, growth and development.
‘’Strikingly, his youthfulness, national appeal and unblemished public service record are perhaps his best unique selling point which represent for Ndigbo a sound badge of honour and pride in the race to fill the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly.
‘’As next Senate President, it is too late in the day for Osita Izunazo to be a transactional occupant of the nation’s No. 3 political office. Born in 1966, he has age on his side which makes him a role model for the youth and a veritable bridge between the youth and the old. Also, his credentials as an agent of national unity and integration become handy when he assumes the leadership of the National Assembly under a Bola Ahmed Tinubu Government that has immediate national healing on its agenda’’, Emeka Nwankpa said.
