The Igbo Heroes and Icons Foundation has urged political parties, particularly the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, not to expect a harvest of votes from the South-East in the 2027 presidential election, insisting that many people in the region support Peter Obi.

The National Coordinator of the foundation, Hon. Chinedu Nsofor, stated this in a statement reacting to an appeal by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, during her recent visit to Imo State, urging South-East voters to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.

Nsofor said there was no better time for Nigerians to support an Igbo president than now, describing Obi as a competent candidate capable of addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

He, however, acknowledged that no individual or group could claim to speak for every Igbo person.

“We are not saying that every Igbo person supports one candidate. No individual has the authority to speak for every Igbo man and woman.

“But there is unmistakable political sentiment across the South-East that the region should have a serious opportunity to produce the next President of Nigeria, and Peter Obi remains the dominant expression of that aspiration in the zone,” he said.

The foundation advised the APC and its strategists against treating the South-East as a political marketplace where empowerment programmes, appointments or financial incentives could automatically translate into electoral support.

It said the people appreciated government projects and investments in the region but maintained that development was a responsibility of government rather than a favour.

“Ndigbo are hospitable, but we are not politically naïve. We appreciate every road, project, empowerment programme, appointment and investment brought to our region.

“But development is not a favour to a people; it is a responsibility of government. Our votes cannot be reduced to the value of an empowerment package,” the group said.

The foundation added that the South-East had contributed significantly to Nigeria’s development and produced prominent citizens across various sectors, but had not produced a democratically elected President since the return to democratic rule in 1999.

It stressed, however, that its position was not that an Igbo person was automatically entitled to become president, but that the South-East should not be excluded from the presidential contest.

“This is not an argument that an Igbo person is automatically entitled to become president. Rather, it is an argument that the South-East should no longer be treated as permanently outside the presidential equation,” it said.

The group said competence, character, fiscal discipline, prudent management and measurable performance should remain central to the presidential contest.

It added that many young Nigerians and voters across the country had associated the Obi movement with concerns over accountability, waste, unemployment, insecurity, education, healthcare and the cost of governance.

Addressing the First Lady, the group acknowledged her reception in the South-East and said her recent visit to Imo State had been warmly received.

“Madam First Lady, with profound respect, we love you and we welcome you to the South-East. The people of the South-East have demonstrated this hospitality repeatedly.

“But respectfully, please do not waste your time trying to persuade Ndigbo to abandon the aspiration for an Igbo presidency. The people have listened. The people have considered the arguments. And majority have made their choice,” the statement said. (Vanguard)

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