Ohanaeze Ndigbo adopts Tinubu as its consensus candidate on the eve of Igbo Day 2025

PAN-Igbo socio-cultural organisation Ohanaeze Ndigbo has adopted President Bola Tinubu as its consensus candidate for the 2027 presidential elections saying that the development was designed to end political rivalry between Igbos and Yorubas.

Although not constitutional, Nigeria's component parts have a gentleman's agreement that the presidency will rotate between the north and the south of the country. In 2023, the three geo-political zones in the south vied for the presidency but the southwest piped the southeast and the south-south the prize with President Tinubu not only securing the nomination of his party the All Progressives Congress (APC) but also winning the national elections.

Some Igbo leaders from the southeast had suggested fielding a candidate in 2027 but according to Ohanaeze Ndigbo, governors, and ministers from the southeast extraction have adopted President Tinubu, ending a long 73-year-old Igbo-Yoruba rivalry. A statement issued ahead of the 2025 annual Igbo Day celebrations to this effect, was signed by Prince Richard Ozobu, Chief Jackson Omenazu, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Professor Chibuikeya Achoakawa, Chief Chinenyeze, Professor Mrs. Nneoma Ukpabi and Chief Alex Okemiri.

Their statement said that the unresolved misunderstanding among members of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons which hindered the elevation of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe to the position of premier of the Western Region in 1952, initiated a bitter rivalry that has plagued both the Igbo and Yoruba peoples for over seven decades. According to Ohanaeze, participants at the 2025 Igbo Day Celebrations recommend bold steps towards reconciliation, advocating for an end to this long-standing strife in the best interests of Ndigbo.

It read: " We emphasise the necessity of forging a new alliance with the Yoruba nation. The significant Igbo investments and economic footprint in Lagos and the southwest are larger than the economies of numerous small African nations.

"The late Yoruba sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, exemplified bravery and unity by selecting Chief Philip Umeadi as his vice presidential candidate in the 1979 elections, a gesture that must inspire us to heal and collaborate. In acknowledgment of the Igbo nation’s recognition of President Bola Tinubu’s government, which has made strides to favour the Igbo despite electoral opposition, we extend an earnest handshake of peace to Afenifere and other Yoruba leaders, affirming our commitment to end this 73-year rivalry."

They claimed that President Tinubu stands as the first Nigerian leader to prioritise the southeast and the Igbo nation, despite the region’s rejection of his candidacy in the 2023 elections. Ohanaeze praised his attentiveness to road projects, infrastructure and good governance across the southeast, which they said previous governments habitually neglected.