Three Igbo Governors have graciously backed Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide in it’s plan to honour the invitation to attend the inauguration of Nigerian President Elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, 29th May, 2023 at Eagle Square, Abuja.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, 23rd May, 2023 by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Secretary General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the apex Igbo socio-cultural stated that Governors Dave Umahi, Okezie Ikpeazu and Nyesom Wike of Ebonyi, Abia and Rivers States, respectively have endorsed their decision and are actively working with them to actualize that .
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide is mobilizing massively to attend the inauguration of President Elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, 29th May, 2023 at Eagle Square, Abuja.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo came to the pragmatic conclusion that boycotting Tinubu’s inauguration was of no strategic benefit to Ndigbo. Rather, it would lead to an undue isolation of Ndigbo while giving the impression that Ndigbo were at war with him.
For avoidance of doubt, Ohanaeze fully supported the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi in the 2023 Presidential election and we still urge him to pursue all legal means in recovering the mandate which most Nigerians believe he was wrongly denied by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. However, Ohanaeze Ndigbo urges Ndigbo to remain law abiding and avoid engaging the Government in confrontation. Granted that Obi is our son and we are proud of him, as he rightly stated, his Presidential project is a Pan-Nigerian project, not an Igbo one. After all, Afenifere under Pa Ayo Adebanjo gave Obi much more support than Ohanaeze Ndigbo ever did.
Indeed, the era of “nzogbu nzogbu” politics is over and Ndigbo should learn to approach political issues in Nigeria from a holistic perspective not disjointed sentiments.
Obi, came to salvage Nigeria by moving the country from consumption to production. Unfortunately, Mahmud Yakubu’s INEC denied Nigerians, not only Ndigbo of that opportunity. If it pleases God, he will still recover his mandate . However, it will be unwise for Ndigbo to boycott the Federal Government of Nigeria under Tinubu since it will amount to cutting off our nose to spite our face.
Furthermore, world leaders including Former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair and US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken have already congratulated Tinubu and their countries are billed to attend his inauguration.
Therefore, it is based on the fact that boycotting Tinubu’s inauguration or fighting him is not in the Igbo interest that the three above named Governors have resolved to not only facilitate Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s attendance of the inauguration but have resolved to stick out their necks to ensure that Ndigbo are not isolated and left in the cold under Tinubu.
Signed
Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro
Secretary General”
