Ohanaeze Affirms Igbo Support For Peter Obi

The leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has affirmed that the entire Igbo nation is fully behind the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

Ohanaeze stated this in reaction to remarks by the Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, who questioned the level of support given to the candidate by Ndigbo in the face of massive national appeal he currently enjoys.

The National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Alex Ogbonnia in a reaction on Wednesday said that the Igbo are solidly behind Obi, adding that he is a worthy and illustrious son who is deserving of support.

He also said that the body will not join issues with a few elites who by the aide of social media have over exaggerated their self-worth, authority, power and political relevance.

"Instructively, the Christian religion informs that in every twelve, there must be a Judas,

"This is a statement of fact, history, experience and a socio-political imperative.

"In other words, it is rather inconceivable to expect everybody to support Obi.

"What is important is that the Obi-Datti movement has gained the support of over ninety percent Igbo and continues to swell with time.

"Ohanaeze will not join issues with those who are opposed to the collective Igbo aspiration with hope that, as in every ideology, more converts will key in when the logs of wood in their eyes are cleared.

"Ohanaeze's support to Obi is not because of his Igboness as rightly pointed out by Baba-Ahmed.

"What goes for Obi today is the awesome quality service he rendered to his people as a governor; and of course, the dispositional humility, character comeliness and intellectual acumen that define his public conducts. 

"As a governor, Obi was busy setting standards of good governance for posterity, while some other myopic, timid and mundane governors were busy with unconscionable primitive acquisition of wealth to the detriment or impoverishment of the very masses that voted them into office."

Ohanaeze also commended the Northern Elders Forum for stating that they will give support to the best man, "who can heal the wounds in the land because actually, everybody in Nigeria is marginalized right now.” 

On the crisis rocking the two major political parties in Nigeria, Ohanaeze said that they were expected as the justice and equity the Igbo seek in Nigeria has found a providential expression in Obi, adding that "every Nigerian knows that it is the turn of the South East to produce a president for Nigeria come 2023, going by the rotation and zoning principles that have been entrenched in Nigeria since 1999. 

"And by all standards, Obi is a good commodity that defies bad market.

"As it stands, Obi represents the body and soul of the Igbo for the 2023 general election.

"We hereby urge Nigerians to ignore any contrary opinion from the South East as the usual distraction and thorns  that trail the path to victory."