BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR

ABUJA – The Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, yesterday accused President Goodluck Jonathan of stoking ethnic division in the country, faulting his alleged claim and appreciation of Igbo votes during the presidential elections.

The party in a statement expressed concern that under  the Jonathan presidency that the North-South had become more pronounced.

The party’s statement conveyed through its national publicity secretary, Engr. Rotimi Fashakin was in reaction to reported comments made by the President during the visit of a delegation of South East Leaders to the State House, Abuja on Monday, September 12, 2011.

President Jonathan according to the statement was reported to have told the delegation, inter-alia, “We thank you for the support you gave and  please convey our appreciation to our brothers and sisters back home. We also know that even from outside the South East, one group of people that gave us most of the votes we have in some of the states in the North are Igbo.”

Reacting, the CPC said: “In CPC, we wish to alert the nation not to look elsewhere for the cause of the excessive overheating of the polity. It is the kind of mind-set of antagonism of the nation’s numero uno towards other tribal groupings he has perceived as being averse to his political evolution that is the cause of tension in the Land!”

“We recall how, in the wake of the October 1, 2010 bombing incident near Eagle square, the President, spiritedly, tried to guide public perception into looking in the direction of the Northern elements that contested the PDP Presidential primaries with him at that time.

But as soon as one of them was schemed out of the race, he was very willing to incorporate his assistance into his campaign machinery. Under his watch, the North-South cleavages had become more pronounced”, the statement added.