Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha

Pan-Igbo, non-partisan organisation, Imeobi Igbo Forum, has urged Ndigbo to ignore the call by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to boycott the next Saturday’s election in the South East and parts of South-South geopolitical zones.

The National Chairman of the forum, Chief Mike Ikeguru-Onugha, called on Ndigbo to disregard the boycott message from IPOB leader but come out en masse and vote for candidates of their choice and vote for PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubukar and vice presidential aspirant, Mr. Peter Obi.

He expressed dissatisfaction that at this jet age, “Kanu and his likes will open their mouths and tell people not to participate in an election,” adding that, “it is through your vote that you can to express your feeling.”

“It is not to the best interest of our people to boycott the elections. He is personal in running the IPOB and doesn’t want to engage with anybody in any argument,” he stated.

He added that the agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra is not a personal thing but a collective struggle by the entire Igbo nation.

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“We are interested in what will favour the Igbo and having gone through the manifestos of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, the incumbent President Mohammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) presidential candidate, with Peter Obi, our son, as his vice, we resolved that we will support the Atiku/Obi ticket.

“Our reason mostly is that there is hunger, frustration, unemployment and economic downturn including the incessant killing of innocent Nigerians on a daily basis by both the Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram terrorists without hope of stopping these problems by the present administration.

“We are asking for change; we want something new to happen; we want the incumbent president to step aside for a new lease of life.

“We are excited about the vice presidential slot given to our son, after 35 years that we were in the cooler, relegated to the background, not considered for anything.

“Let somebody from Igbo get near the presidency; that is why we are happy with Obi and he is a goal-getter, result-oriented and I know that with him and Atiku, the sky will be their limit.

“Atiku has popularised restructuring in Nigeria and I don’t see him backing out if he becomes president. The National Conference outcome may eventually see the light of the day with Atiku.

“Buhari’s problem is the people with him who are managing the affairs of the country. They are not exposed economically and businesswise and as such these problems come to them as in tennis court where the ball will hit somebody at the back and the person will always struggle to adapt. It is only commerce and industrialisation that can create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths,” he stated.