The pan-Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has said it has not taken a decision on the candidate to support for the 2027 presidential election.
The body said it was still strategising, adding that what should be of concern is how to tackle the challenges of insecurity.
Speaking with THE PUNCH on Sunday, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Ikechukwu Oji, said many Nigerians had lost confidence in the electoral system because of their experience in the 2023 general elections.
Oji claimed that the elections were marred by irregularities and man-made glitches by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He said, “Ohanaeze is yet to take a position on which candidate it is going to back in the 2027 presidential election. This is just 2025, we are still looking at issues of creation of an additional state in the South-East and the issue of insecurity.
“We have other more pressing issues like the constitutional amendment, tackling insecurity and killings across the country. These are the issues people should be talking about at the moment, not the 2027 election. It is still too early. The issue of 2027 will be handled in due course.”
When pressed on whether the organisation will back the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, should he decide to run again in 2027, Oji said, “Obi is not just our son, but a prominent Nigerian and he is eminently qualified to contest for the country’s presidency. But the Ohanaeze as a body has yet to take a stand on the candidate to support. When the time comes, we will do that.
“People need to be alive to be able to vote. Look at the killings going on in Benue, Plateau, South-East and other parts of Nigeria. This is what people are more worried about.”
He said there was a need to restore people’s confidence in the electoral process, stating that everybody should be worried about how the vote will count.
“There was a local government election in Lagos State, but there was low turnout and voter apathy. What this tells us is that the people have lost confidence in the electoral process.
“So, we should be more worried about how we can ensure that the people’s votes count and improve the electoral process in the country. How do we ensure that credibility is brought back to the electoral system? The constitutional amendment should worry every Nigerian more than the 2027 election. So, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has not taken a position on any candidate.”
