16th August, 2019
The Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr Joe Igbokwe, has attributed the overwhelming votes the Igbo citizens of Nigeria gave to candidates of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, especially, that of the presidential as an expression ethnic sentiment.
According to Friday PUNCH, Igbokwe ascribed the low Igbo votes in the state for President Muhammad Buhari during the 2019 general elections to ethnicity, saying the group had sentiment for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party because its running mate, Peter Obi, was an Igbo man.
The statement was reportedly made while he was speaking to journalists on Thursday after being screened by a 16-man committee of the Assembly chaired by the Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru.
Igbokwe was among 13 commissioners and special advisers designate whose names were sent to the state lawmakers by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for screening.
He was also reported to have expressed a surprise that the lawmakers drilled him with about fifteen questions during the screening exercise, not minding his position over the years as the party’s publicity secretary which he thought would be enough for him to get preferential treatment of ‘take a bow and go’.
“I thought they would just ask me to take a bow and go having served the party for a number of years, because all of them are party members. But I met a different thing; I thought it was just to go and take a bow, but I ended up spending more time.” Igbokwe was quoted by the news medium.
However, the committee chairman, Abiru, was said to have told the nominees that they would get feedback of their performance through the governor.