Some concerned Yoruba elders have cautioned politicians against profiling Ndigbo, noting that Igbo people are known to be peaceful, hard working, accommodating and law-abiding.

The elders expressed worries over alleged attempts to discredit the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, whose popularity, they said, has continued to unsettle his opponents.

Operating under the canopy of Conference of Concerned Yoruba Elders (CCYE), the concerned Nigerians wondered why the evil act of one Chinasa Michael, said to have masterminded the burning of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) terminal at Oyigbo, Lagos State, would be the basis for judging the Igbos.

“We have watched with keen interest subtle attempts to de-market the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, through the deliberate profiling of Igbo people in some parts of the country,” the elders said in the statement.

They further warned that: “On no account should the criminal tendency of a person be used to benchmark millions of others from the same geographical entity, all in a desperate bid to weaken the chances of a candidate in the 2023 presidential election.”

While clarifying that they are non-partisan, the elders said their concern remained a fair and peaceful electoral process, as well as the election of a new set of leaders, who recognise the enormity of the challenges confronting the Nigerian State, and have shown demonstrable capacity to fix same.

The statement reads in part: “As responsible and enlightened elders of thought in Yoruba land, we are duty-bound to always stand for justice, truth and equity.

“We are constrained to respond to some negative narratives on social and traditional media against the Igbo people and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, by some desperate politicians, who are having sleepless nights over the LP candidate’s growing popularity across board.

“We think we must be responsible in our campaign in other not to divide Nigeria further on ethnic lines.

“We call on all these politicians to convince Nigerians on their programme, rather than sponsoring media campaign of calumny against Peter Obi and the Igbo nation.” (New Telegraph)

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