An Igbo community group in Abuja has cautioned some South-East leaders against a hasty and blanket endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for next year’s presidential election.
The socio-cultural organisation representing Igbo residents across Abuja, under the aegis of the Igbo Community Association in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in a press release signed by its President-General, Mr Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe, stated that claims that South-East voters were fully behind Tinubu were false.
The group singled out Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma; Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi; and Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi, as those making the claims, insisting that none of them speaks for the Igbo.
Ezenekwe said: “The assertion that President Tinubu will sweep all five South-East states in 2027 is completely detached from the prevailing conditions on the ground.
“The Igbo Community Association FCT wishes to set the record straight for the public and the political establishment that neither Governor Hope Uzodimma, Minister David Umahi, nor Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi serves as the spokesperson for the Igbo ethnic group.
“Uzodimma and Umahi are not spokespersons for the Igbo, neither is Senator Nwebonyi. These three are merely being sent out to speak for Tinubu against the interests of the Igbo. The South-East considers the Tinubu administration a failed administration and, for this reason, will not vote for Tinubu.
“Elected political appointees and ruling-party actors do not hold a mandate to declare a political consensus on behalf of millions of Igbo citizens. These endorsements represent the personal political preservation strategies of a few office holders seeking to retain favour with the Presidency. They do not reflect the true political stance, socio-economic realities, or grassroots sentiment of the South-East region.”
The group urged public officials from the South-East to focus on their constitutional duties, governance and the immediate economic needs of their constituents, rather than attempting to trade away the political sovereignty of the Igbo electorate for personal leverage.
They insisted that the grassroots population across the South-East considers the current federal administration to have failed on key economic and administrative metrics and would not vote for those at the helm of the administration.
Igbo community group in Abuja cautions Southeast leaders against blanket endorsement of Tinubu