BY Tony Edike

ENUGU – THE joint meeting of South-East political leaders, governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and traditional rulers from the zone, slated for Wednesday in Enugu, is expected to articulate a list of demands that would be formally presented to President Goodluck Jonathan and the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The demands, as revealed by a chieftain of PDP in the zone, weekend, include appointments into juicy federal ministries, parastatals and political offices as well as infrastructure such as roads, power, seaport and construction of the second Niger bridge  in Onitsha.

Among the ministries which the Igbo leaders are clamouring for include  Works, Environment, Federal Capital Territory as well as the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, positions no South-Easterner had ever occupied.

These are in addition to the two offices already zoned to the South-East, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, and the Deputy Senate President, which Ndigbo had since acknowledged.

Vanguard learnt that the Igbo leaders would base their fresh demands on the massive support and delivery of the second largest votes at the zonal level to President Jonathan in the presidential polls, for which Ndigbo must be adequately compensated.

“This crucial meeting is to bring all the Igbo leaders and various groups together to harmonise views and articulate our demands that will be presented to the president and PDP leadership, believing that having given the party a bloc vote in the last presidential election, we deserve a better treatment in Jonathan’s presidency,” South-East Zonal Secretary of PDP, Mr. Vincent Okpalaeke, told Vanguard on phone weekend.