The Igbo Agenda Dialogue (IAD) a socio-political and pro-democracy organisation of Igbo people in Nigeria and the diaspora yesterday asked the Igbo across the country to throw their weight behind Nigeria Democratic Congress(NDC) Presidential candidate Peter Obi in the January 16 poll.
yesterday that they were endorsing former Anambra State governor Peter Obi as its preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 presidential election while asking all Igbos across the country to throw their weight behind him.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday IAD Leader and founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) an Chief Chekwas Okorie said at a news conference in Abuja yesterday that every Igbo has a responsibility to join hands with well-meaning Nigerians to usher in ”a compassionate prudent and incorruptible leader like Peter Obi” as Nigeria’s next President.
The Igbo according to him constitute about 25 per cent of the voting population in 31 states of the country and 99 per cent of voters in the five Southeast states.
He recalled that the Igbo nation represented by former Vice President Alex Ekwueme(late) was betrayed when he was denied the Presidency in 1999 after the Southeast had massively voted for the PDP.
Okorie said: ‘In the present build-up to the 2027 presidential election we painstakingly appraised all the frontline presidential candidates presented by the various political parties for the election.
‘We considered their track records in the previous political leadership positions they held their empathy and passion for the people of Nigeria and their physical fitness to rise to the onerous challenges of presiding over the country as large and heterogeneous as Nigeria.
‘We also considered their probity and prudence in the management of public resources and with the outcome of this appraisal exercise we consulted widely and extensively with all the extant groups earlier mentioned above; we came to the unanimous resolution that it will be in the best interest of Nigeria to elect Mr Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as the President of Nigeria come January 16 2027.
‘We are encouraged by the fact that Mr Peter Obi has earned the popular support of the majority of Nigerians across all ethnic and religious divides in the country. He is also easily the most visible Nigerian presidential candidate for the 2027 election known globally.
‘We are further motivated to endorse Mr Peter Obi for the office of President of Nigeria because right from the inception of Nigeria’s presidential system of government Nigerians have been compelled by certain circumstances to be limited to mostly gerontocrats in their choice of President till now.
‘For the first time in a long time Nigerians have a singular opportunity to massively participate in the recruitment of the president of their choice despite various acts of intimidation and threats being bandied around by those who are in self-inflicted panic about the obvious defeat that awaits them in free fair credible transparent and inclusive elections.
‘We seize this opportunity to urge eligible Igbo persons in Nigeria to come out in their millions to complement other Nigerians who have already demonstrated their willingness to allow Mr Peter Obi to provide the much-needed leadership which Nigerians very much desire at this present time.
‘Despite the reluctance of previous Nigerian governments to conduct a credible national census we can state without equivocation that Igbo people constitute a minimum of 25% of the voting population in each of the 31 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) or the second largest population to the indigenous population of these states while constituting over 99% of the voting population in the five states in the South East geo-political zone of Nigeria.
‘We have a responsibility to join hands with all well-meaning Nigerians to usher in a compassionate prudent incorruptible leader in the person of Mr Peter Obi as the next President of Nigeria in 2027 with the able support of his compatriot who is similarly compassionate and people-oriented Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso the former Governor of Kano State who is his running mate in the presidential race.
‘On a final note we advise other Igbo politicians who are in other political parties who also have the right to campaign for the presidential candidates of their choice to limit their campaigns to issues while canvassing for votes for their preferred candidates.
‘Igbo people are peace-loving citizens of Nigeria; we have shown earlier in this address the support and collaboration our people and their leaders gave to candidates from other parts of the country and ethnic groups to win elections and form governments in the past.’