Pete Edochie, a veteran Nollywood actor and elder statesman, has noted that Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and APC presidential aspirant, is too old to run for president in 2023.
Edochie who made the remarks in an interview with BBC Igbo service, advised the former governor and people like him to leave the stage for younger people.
“Many people like Tinubu are too old and too weak to run for president. He (Tinubu) has been in power for a long time until he was made the leader of the APC,” he said.
“But he should leave the position for those who are younger and healthier. Let’s be honest.”
The veteran actor was responding to a question on Mr Tinubu’s candidacy for the 2023 presidential election.
He also lamented what he described as the continued marginalisation of the Igbo in the country.
“Igbò, Hausa, and Yorübá are the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Only once in the history of Nigeria has it emerged that an Igbò person became the head of state in Nigeria,” he lamented.
“That was (former military head of state) Aguiyi Ironsi during the military government, and his headship was short-lived. Since then, the North and the Yorübá have been sharing power between themselves; apart from Goodluck Jonathan, who isn’t even Igbò.”
Mr Edochie described Igbos as resilient, stressing that Nigeria needs their ingenuity and sound leadership.
He further claimed that the solution to Nigeria’s socio-economic and political crises is an Igbo leader.
“Why has power not returned to the Igbò people? Is there a plot by the political elites to sideline the South-East? I’ve lived in the North. I speak Hausa. But it’s long overdue for Nigeria to have a leader of Igbo extraction,” he asserted.
The Nollywood star added, “The problem in Nigeria is greed. Leadership is dominated by northerners, but, 60 years after independence, we’ve not ended the electricity problem.