Founder and pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and leader of Igbo Agenda Dialogue, Chief Chekwas Okorie, has declared that Igbo votes must never again be taken for granted.
He said that candidates or political parties seeking Igbo support during elections must enter into a binding Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Igbo nation, and such agreements shall be made public through verified platforms.
This was contained in a communique issued after the meeting of Igbo leaders on the platform of the Igbo Agenda Dialogue, IAD, in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the gathering was concerned about the historical absence of a unified Igbo political front since the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970.
He condemned the ridicule, marginalisation, and alienation of Ndigbo in Nigeria’s political space and resolved that such a trend must no longer continue.
Chekwas and the Igbo, leaders, in a communique after the meeting, lamented the decline in voter turnout among Ndigbo in recent elections and resolved to reawaken political consciousness through mass mobilisation and education.
It was agreed that the Permanent Voter’s Card, PVC, is the strongest instrument of political empowerment for Ndigbo, far more effective than violence or armed struggle.
The meeting resolved to build a formidable Igbo National Grid, integrating all credible Igbo associations, unions, professional bodies, and diaspora groups into a coordinated structure for political mobilisation, economic empowerment, and cultural renaissance.
“The time has come for Ndigbo to redeem, reassert, and reclaim their rightful place in Nigeria’s political and economic space through unity, resilience, and strategic engagement,” the communique read to the press by Okorie added.
“Igbo leaders, irrespective of party, faith, or persuasion, must work together to guarantee the collective interest of the Igbo nation.
“Even if our son or daughter is a presidential candidate, he or she will go into that memorandum with us, because Igbo votes can no longer be taken for granted, promises that are made in the air, saying that you will turn Igbo land into an air conditioned area, and eventually heat will kill us will no longer be tolerated,” he stated.
2027: Candidates must sign MoU with Igbos, our votes won’t be in vain again – Okorie
