The All Igbo Youth Forum (ALYF) has threatened to boycott
the 2027 general election unless the federal government releases Nnamdi Kanu,
the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Kanu is currently standing trial on a seven-count charge
bordering on treasonable felony, preferred against him by the federal
government.
The IPOB leader has been in detention since June 2021 after
he was extradited from Kenya, while there have been calls for the federal
government to discontinue the case and release him.
NAN reports that Chinedu Obilor, national president of the
forum, said the group had suspended its planned protest after a meeting with
Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the house of representatives.
Obilor said Kalu assured the forum that discussions are
ongoing with President Bola Tinubu regarding Kanu’s release.
“We believe the president will listen to the cry of Ndigbo
and release Kanu,” he said.
“They cannot leave Nnamdi Kanu and be talking of 2027. Kalu
must take our demand to the president urgently.
“If they fail, we will march 10 million strong to Abuja and
dare them to jail us all; if they feel they will use Nnamdi Kanu to do
politics, we will not agree.
“We’ll mobilise 10 million Igbo youths to march and tell the
government we won’t vote if Kanu is not released.”
Obilor said the forum would give Kalu two months to reach
Tinubu while criticising Kanu’s detention despite “freedom granted” to other
agitators and terrorists.
He also decried the exclusion of the Igbo from recent
political appointments, describing it as “unacceptable.”
The forum president also reacted to the northern political
interests ahead of the 2027 presidential race, warning that it would be unjust
for power to return to the region.
He noted that the south supported the north for eight years
under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, insisting that power must
remain in the south for another term.
Obilor also accused some Igbo leaders of undermining Kanu
and misleading the president.
“How can we say we’re one Nigeria when Igbo people are
always excluded? Any coalition that won’t cede the ticket to the south will not
fly,” he said.
“Some of them (Igbo leaders) are behind Kanu’s plight, and
they are deceiving the president.”
Obilor asked Tinubu to listen to the voices of Igbo youths
rather than the elite in the south-east.
He added that many of those advising the president do not
have grassroots influence.
On July 5, David Umahi, minister of works, said the release
of the detained IPOB leader is not a precondition for the south-east zone to
support Tinubu in 2027.
Umahi said Tinubu is not responsible for the detention of
Kanu, adding that the IPOB leader would be released through divine grace and
dialogue.
The minister added that the call for Kanu’s release should
not be premised on politics or undue pressure.
Umahi also dismissed the allegations that Tinubu is
sidelining the south-east in federal appointments and infrastructural
development.
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