The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has urged all Igbos, including members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), to ensure that they are registered as voters ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The apex group also implored President Muhammadu Buhari to fulfil the promise he made in Aba that he would make an Igbo man president in 2023.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo urged the Igbo, including members of IPOB and the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), to participate fully in the voter registration exercise “to increase numeric stamina during the 2023 general elections”.
The group made it bare that it is only a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction that could assuage the grief of the Igbo people, adding that the marginalisation and injustice will end the clamour for secession.
According to a recent statement by the Secretary-General of the group, Okechukwu Isifuzoro, Ndigbo residing in the 36 states of the country must know the importance of the voter registration exercise and sacrifice time to participate in it.
He maintained that Biafra agitators, especially IPOB and MASSOB, must see beyond their noses and mobilise the people for the registration exercise as there might be a future referendum, stressing that it is only those with voter cards that will participate in the future referendum.
He urged the Ndigbo not to be discouraged by the manipulation of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) allotment of least polling units to the South-East but capitalise on the Igbo presence in every 774 local councils for electoral pursuits.
“This is the finest time for the Ndigbo, including the youths that had never taken part in the voting exercise, to register for the first time, especially those that would be 18 years old this year.
“Our target Igbo population is 18-29 years old (those Big Brother Naija zealous youths).
“Diaspora voting privileges must be a focal point of the National Diaspora Commission as it will be a great legacy project that will outlast Buhari’s government,” he said.
The Secretary-General also added that Nigerians abroad have the right to take part in this electoral process, as Foreign Missions and Embassies must serve as centres for online voter enrolment.
“We are not advocating for South-East presidency, what we are advocating for is a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction.
“There are Ndigbo in Rivers, Delta and Benue states and so on, but the core zone that demands equity, justice and fairness are South-East, which has not produced a Nigerian president.
“If peradventure the injustice or any attempt to thwart 2023 Igbo presidency succeeds, it will not augur well with the unity of the country. It will strengthen self-determination and the agitation for Biafra. It is only a justified Igbo presidency that will unite Nigeria.” he said.