The founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and President of the Igbo Agenda Dialogue, Chief Chekwas Okorie, has predicted that the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will poll more votes in Lagos State in 2027 than in the last general elections.
NEWSNGR reports that Okorie, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, said the number of Igbo voters who would turn out in Lagos in 2027 would double the figure recorded in 2023.
He spoke on the position of the Igbo Agenda Dialogue on remarks credited to the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, against Obi; claims that the North would not vote for an Igbo candidate; and the stance of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who has declared Rivers State and the FCT for President Bola Tinubu.
On Soludo, Okorie said the governor had been reminded that both he and Obi were APGA products.
He recalled that despite the alleged invasion of Osun State by over 30 governors and the Senate President during the governorship election, voters in the state stood their ground and elected their preferred candidate despite the might of federal power.
He noted that the election winner, Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party (A), still endorsed Tinubu’s re-election, apparently because Osun is the President’s home state.
“We therefore wonder why Professor Soludo would not take a cue from that example. If you recall, Professor Soludo was the first governor to endorse President Tinubu, even before governors elected on the platform of the APC did so,” he said.
The APGA founder attributed the governor’s position to personal grievance, adding that his group would not waste time engaging him.
Okorie cautioned Soludo to be mindful of the rest of his tenure, warning that the governor could face a hostile legislature if Obi’s party wins the majority of seats in the Anambra State House of Assembly.
“My advice to him is to be mindful of the remaining three and a half years of his tenure. If Peter Obi’s party sweeps the Anambra State House of Assembly election, Soludo could find himself dealing with a hostile legislature for the remainder of his administration. That should be his concern,” he said.
He also challenged the governor to deliver at least 10 per cent of the state’s votes to the President.
“In the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu secured only 5.3 per cent of the votes cast in the South-east. We will see whether Soludo can increase that figure to 10 per cent,” he added.
Responding to claims that the North would not vote for an Igbo presidential candidate, Okorie said such sentiments were common during electioneering, but often came from people ignorant of the country’s political history.
He recalled that in the First Republic, the National Council of Nigerian Citizens won the most votes, followed by the Northern People’s Congress, with the Action Group also securing seats.
According to him, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe could have formed a government with Chief Obafemi Awolowo and become Prime Minister, but chose to put the country’s stability first.
“How many people know that, as far back as 1960, an individual of Fulani origin was able to secure electoral support in Enugu, despite the relatively small Fulani population in the area at the time?
“Igbo voters supported and elected him. When his party subsequently declined to nominate him, reportedly because of the embarrassment surrounding the situation, the same Igbo voters returned him to office for a second term as an independent candidate. Where else has such a thing happened in Nigeria?” he asked.
He added that those making derogatory remarks about Igbo presidential aspirations were probably born much later and had not been properly educated by their leaders on the nation’s history.
Okorie placed Wike in the same category as Soludo, saying the group would not be distracted by them.
He, however, recalled that in the 2023 presidential election, Obi won about 58 per cent of the votes cast in the FCT, leaving Atiku Abubakar and Tinubu to share the remaining 42 per cent, with neither of them meeting the 25 per cent threshold in the territory.
On Rivers State, he noted that although Obi had no strong structure there in 2023, Wike was now claiming credit for Tinubu’s victory in the state.
“This raises questions about the extent to which the outcome reflected the preferences of Rivers voters and the influence of political actors,” he said.
Okorie urged Igbo voters nationwide not to stay away from the polls in 2027.
“Our message to Igbo voters is simple: they should not stay at home on election day. They should go out and vote.
“I am confident that the number of Igbo people who will vote in Lagos in 2027 will be twice the number who voted in 2023. We have arrangements for reaching out to these communities and engaging them directly,” he said.
