A leading South East group pushing for an Igbo presidency, Igbo Heroes and Icon Foundation (IHIF), has rejected moves by the Renewed Hope for Greater Nigeria (RHGN) to lobby Peter Obi to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.

RHGN’s South East deputy leader, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, had announced plans to lead Igbo leaders, including Ohanaeze Ndigbo and former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, to persuade Obi to step down his aspirations.

Responding in a statement, yesterday, IHIF national coordinator, Chinedu Nsofor, said RHGN should allow Obi to exercise his constitutional right to contest.

“In any civilised environment, conscience based on equity, fairness and justice supremely prevails in all dealings,” Nsofor said. “This fairness, equity and justice guarantee unity, peace, progress and national cohesion, particularly in a country like Nigeria, where cultural and tribal diversities are highly pronounced.”

He argued that the Igbo have sacrificed a lot for Nigeria’s unity and deserve the presidency, noting that since 1999 the rotation has favoured the North and South West.

According to him, Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba, served eight years, Umaru Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari, both Hausa/Fulani, served a combined 11 years and Goodluck Jonathan, from the South South Ijaw, served five years.

“After Buhari’s tenure in May 2023, every right-thinking Nigerian expected that it was to be the turn of the Igbo to produce the successor to Buhari. But that was not to be,” Nsofor said. He added that instead of an Igbo contest among themselves, “Tinubu shambled in with his ‘Emilokan tag’ while Atiku blocked Obi’s chance.”

Nsofor said the two major tribes have held both the presidency and vice presidency for eight years each, while “since 1960, when Nigeria became independent, the Igbo has only ruled this Nigeria for an emergency period of six months, while the Yoruba has ruled for fifteen years and the Hausa/Fulani tribe has ruled for more than fifty years.”

He further questioned the application of the federal character principle, asking if any Igbo jurist has been appointed Chief Justice of Nigeria despite producing eminent judges like Sir Louis Mbanefo and Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.

The IHIF leader urged Nigerians to prioritise competence over tribe and religion in 2027.

“Let us avoid electing a leader that does not know the balance of 97 percent removed from 100 percent. University graduates should be preferred to school certificate holders for presidential candidates; not graduates that present forged certificates.

“Doing one thing in the same way every time will not give a different result. Let us shift this national leadership base to this untried tribe, the Igbo tribe and see what happens. The forthcoming 2027 presidential election is the golden opportunity to explore this governmental leadership revolutionary change,” he said.

He concluded by asking the group to rather mobilise the South West and the North to align with the South East to urge Tinubu to step down for Obi for equity and justice to reign. (The Sun)