The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu has urged the Igbo people to support President Bola Tinubu and refrain from protests or violence against his administration.
Iwuanyanwu said the Igbo ethnic group had accepted the Nigerian Supreme Court’s verdict declaring Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.
In return, he asked President Tinubu to address the needs of the Igbo in the country, according to a statement titled “Message to all Igbo Worldwide.”
The leader of the Igbo socio-cultural group said he had declined several requests asking him to mobilise his members against the Tinubu’s government.
Highlighting economic hardships and frustrations across Nigeria, Iwuanyanwu noted various instances of marginalisation and injustice faced by the Igbo ethnic group.
He said the Southeast geopolitical zone, comprising five states – Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo – was the only zone with fewer states than others, resulting in billions of financial losses and reduced political representation.
He warned that if the federal government and the National Assembly did not take steps to create a new state in the South-East, he would have no choice but to go to court.
He added the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the separatist group advocates for the restoration of the defunct state of Biafra as one of the injustices against the geo-political zone.
Kanu was arrested in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria in 2021 on treason and is facing terrorism-related charges.
