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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Igbo Heroes and Icons Foundation (IHIF) has said Mr. Peter Obi will win 99 percent of votes cast in the South East in the 2027 presidential election if the poll is free, fair, and credible.
The Foundation stated this in response to a recent declaration by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, that President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) will harvest more votes in the South East in 2027.
In a statement signed by the leadership of the Foundation, under Prince Chinedu Nsofor, the group said while it respects Senator Umahi’s political assessment, the South East is ready for an Igbo Presidency and will not be persuaded to abandon that aspiration.
The Foundation announced its endorsement of Obi as its preferred presidential candidate for 2027, describing him as the strongest expression of the South East’s aspiration for an Igbo Presidency.
The Foundation said the demand for an Igbo Presidency is rooted in fairness, equity, justice, and reciprocity, not exclusion or opposition to other ethnic groups.
The group cited historical examples to demonstrate Igbo commitment to national unity, including during the Nigerian Youth Movement era, majority Igbo members reportedly supported Yoruba candidate, Samuel Akinsanya, over Igbo candidate Ernest Ikoli.
The group also added that in the administration of Eastern Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Altine from Katsina served as the first Mayor of Enugu, while Dr. Balogun, a Yoruba man from the West, served as Deputy Mayor of Port Harcourt.
The Foundation also cited the role of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in preserving the federation, noting that when the Western Region accepted self-government and the Northern Region declined, Azikiwe declined to take a separate path, stating “we will not leave our Northern brothers behind.”
It further recalled Azikiwe’s role in ensuring the removal of a secession clause from the pre-independence constitution and his decision after the 1959 elections to accept an arrangement with the Northern People’s Congress over a potentially more powerful offer from the Action Group, under Chief Obafemi Awolowo, to avoid a North versus South political crisis.
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The Foundation argued that the South East has supported presidential candidates from other regions, including Shehu Shagari from the North, Olusegun Obasanjo from the West, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from the North, Goodluck Jonathan from the South-South, and Bola Tinubu from the South-West.
It said after decades of supporting other regions, fairness demands that Nigerians give the Igbo opportunity to produce the president in 2027, describing 2027 as the Igbo’s “Emi-lo-kan” year.
On why it chose Obi, the Foundation described him as a “renowned economic recovery physician” and pointed to his record in Anambra State, particularly prudent financial management, despite the state not being among the highest recipients of statutory allocations.
The group said an Obi presidency would both correct a longstanding imbalance and offer Nigerians a leadership model based on production, accountability, and economic recovery.
The Foundation said Senator Umahi is entitled to his prediction, but maintained that appointments, promises, or defections will not automatically translate into widespread support for the APC in the South East.
“The South East has watched presidential power move through different regions while the Igbo have yet to produce a President since independence,” the statement said.
The Foundation stressed that its 99 percent projection is not a call for intimidation or suppression of opposing views, noting that every Nigerian has the constitutional right to vote for any candidate.
It called on other opposition contenders to consider building consensus around Obi and urged political leaders to listen to the South East’s demand for equity.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us. 2027 is the time to give the Igbo people their turn. 2027 is the time for an Igbo Presidency. 2027 is the time for Peter Obi,” the statement concluded.
