By Tony Adibe
With Nigeria’s 2027 general elections seemingly coming closer, three pro-Igbo groups and concerned stakeholders of African Democratic Congress (ADC) have asked President Bola Tinubu, against all odds, to shelve his re-election bid and allow the emergence of a president of Igbo origin.
The groups also called on all the political parties in the country to zone their presidential tickets to the South East geopolitical zone in the spirit of “justice equity and fair-play”.
“South-East has suffered the highest injustice as far as equity and fairness in rotation of presidential power is concerned,” they maintained.
At a press conference tagged: “Special Joint Press Conference”, held in Enugu on Monday, the three organizations – SouthEast Enlightenment Group, Igbo Leadership Development Foundation and Concerned Stakeholders of ADC, declared: “We deem it necessary to once again reiterate our stand for the emergence of a Nigerian President of SouthEast extraction.”
The groups also called for a replay of similar political arrangement in 1998 when all the three major political parties zoned their presidential tickets to the southwest -(Yoruba ethnic group), thereby facilitating the emergence of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as President in 1999.
According to the groups, since the inception of the ongoing democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999, of the six geo-political zones, only the south-East zone has not occupied Nigeria’s Presidency.
Reflecting on the recent election timetable and schedule released by the election commission, the groups also said: “Recently, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released its revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections, signalling the commencement of political activities by political parties ahead of the general elections.
“They pointed out that given the current political situation in some of the opposition political parties, it appears odd for a SouthEast son to emerge in the leading political parties. In the APC, the presidential ticket is locked in for the incumbent President; in the ADC, the party appears to have thrown the ticket open, with leading contenders like Atiku Abubakar and Chibuike Ameachi set to contest the primaries.
“The People’s Democratic Party and the Labour Party are both enmeshed in intractable crises and stalemate, making the platforms undesirable for any serious contender. This reveals a frightening prospect for the South East. The South East appears to be steadily sidelined in the scheme of power play in Nigeria, with the majority of South Easterners feeling alienated.”
They said: “Under the present 4th Republic, South-West has taken the turn of the Southern bloc thrice, South- South once, and South East nil.
“South-East has suffered the highest injustice as far as equity and fairness in the rotation of presidential power is concerned. Against the foregoing background, we are here today to declare the common position of the South East with regard to the Nigerian presidency.”
In the position paper of the groups, which was read to journalists by Dr. Godwin Udibe, National President South-East Enlightenment Group, they insisted that “the common goal, therefore, is to galvanise the South-East and other partners across the various regions of the country to support the South-East to produce the President of Nigeria in 2027.
“Consequently, we are appealing to all political parties to zone their presidential tickets to the South-East in what would be a repeat of the zoning arrangement in 1998, when all the then 3 political parties zoned their presidential ticket to the South West. We are not unmindful of the poaching game by the ruling All Progressives Congress, which as of today has 31 Governors in its fold.”
They were quick to add: “We note that the defections do not translate into improved well-being of South-East citizens; neither can defection guarantee electoral success for the defectors.
“These political developments have further strengthened our resolve to push the South-East collective interest. We therefore express our desire for the South-East to have the exclusivity to produce the President of Nigeria in 2027, and reiterate our request on political parties to zone their presidential ticket to the South East.
“Furthermore, the South East will identify with political parties that field their presidential candidate from the South East. For the South East Governors working against South East presidency project, we will mobilize the South East to vote them out.
“For equity’s sake, we call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to run for a second term in office in 2027 but to support a South-Easterner to clinch the presidency for a single term to complete 8 years of presidency in the South after which the presidency should return to the North.”
