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The Igbo Political Movement in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term in the 2027 presidential election, pledging a minimum of two million votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The group, operating under the Igbo Delegate Assembly (IDA) 19 Northern States and FCT, said its decision followed consultations with traders, industrialists, youths, women, and community leaders across the North.
Declaring the group’s support for Tinubu at a press conference in Kaduna, the Director-General of the Igbo Political Movement, 19 Northern States and FCT, Chief John Amaechi Onwe, said the endorsement was based on what he described as the administration’s economic reforms, infrastructure projects, and support for businesses.
Onwe, who spoke on the theme, “Continuity, Prosperity, and Inclusion: Why Igbo Political Movement under Igbo Delegate Assembly 19 Northern States plus FCT Back President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a Second Term,” said the group believed the reforms initiated by the administration required more time to mature.
“We stand unequivocally to make a clear and historic declaration: We, the Igbo Political Movement 19 Northern States and FCT who believe in unity, enterprise, and progress, are throwing our full weight behind the re-election of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in 2027,” he said.
According to him, the group arrived at the decision after “a careful and thorough review of the last three years of this administration” and consultations with its members and stakeholders across the 19 northern states and the FCT.
Onwe said the group believed that the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, though initially painful, had helped to address what he described as economic leakages and improve government revenue.
He also cited infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the ongoing Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway and access roads to the Second Niger Bridge, as areas in which he said the administration had demonstrated commitment to economic development.
“These macro policies are laying the foundation for a $1 trillion economy. Nigeria needs four more years to consolidate these gains,” he said.
The group also praised the administration’s programmes targeting micro, small and medium enterprises, saying Igbo traders and business owners in markets across Kano, Zaria, Kaduna, and the FCT had benefited from government interventions.
Onwe said, “The Igbo man is a trader, an industrialist, and an innovator. We live and die by microeconomics. This is where we have seen direct impact.”
He also commended the administration’s reported increase in the monthly allowance of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members from N33,000 to N77,000, describing it as a demonstration that young Nigerians deserved better welfare.
“For us in the North, where thousands of our sons and daughters serve in every state, this welfare improvement means dignity, motivation, and hope,” he said.
The group said it would not only support Tinubu at the presidential level but would also back APC candidates for governorship and legislative positions across the 19 northern states and the FCT.
Onwe said the movement would mobilise its structures and grassroots members to campaign for the party and explain the administration’s policies to its supporters.
“We pledge to vote for candidates running for governorship and legislative positions under APC across the 19 northern states and FCT,” he said.
“We are mobilising all our structures across the 19 Northern States and FCT to vote massively for APC.”
He added that the group was committed to ensuring that “our up to two million voters vote APC in the forthcoming election.”
During the question-and-answer session, Onwe clarified that the two million votes being pledged were a minimum figure.
“So we are giving all APC candidates a minimum of two million votes. It can be more, it can be times two or more,” he said.
Asked why the group had endorsed Tinubu instead of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, an Igbo and former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Onwe said the group’s political focus was on the North.
“Here, we are not here for Peter Obi. We are here for Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
“And our investment is in the North. Like I said in my address, I said we are here in northern politics. And we are here for Tinubu. We are not here for another candidate.”
Responding to questions on the continued agitation surrounding the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, Onwe declined to offer a detailed position, saying the matter was for the government to address.
“The issue of Nnamdi Kanu, the government knows what to do,” he said.
“I’m speaking on behalf of the Igbo community in my team of consultants. I don’t think it’s our job to discuss that.”
Onwe called on Nigerians to reject ethnic bigotry and divisive politics, urging voters to assess political leaders based on their performance.
“We call on all Nigerians to shun division, politics of bitterness, and ethnic bigotry. Let us judge leaders by results,” he said.
“President Tinubu, the Igbo nation in 19 Northern states in Nigeria and FCT is with you. Finish the job you have started.”
