By: Imo Thomas- Umuahia.
All Igbo Youths forum, an Igbo political pressure group worldwide, has threatened to move against the Ruling party if Nnamdi Kanu is not released in the next two months, as promised by Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, and other South East leaders in the Ruling party.
Chief Chinedum Obilor, former Deputy Chairman, Umuahia North local government area, and the National President of All Igbo Youths forum, made this threat on Tuesday in Umuahia, while lamenting the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu for political reasons.
He said that last time the forum had an audience with the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt.Hon.Benjaim Kalu, on the release of Mazi Nmandi Kanu, assured us that they are talking with Mr President and pleaded with us to be calm, assuring us of a positive outcome of their engagement with President Tinubu.
“We believe that the President will listen to the cry of Ndigbo and release Kanu.
“That’s why I’m here to tell the whole world that our stand is still our stand. They cannot leave Nnamdi Kanu there and be talking of 2027.
“We will listen to to the Deputy Speaker as our brother and the number six person in Nigeria. But I think we will give him two more months to talk to the President to release our brother. But if they feel they will use him to do politics, we will not agree.
“We said it before, and we want to say it again that we will mobilise 10 million Igbo youths to march across the street to tell the ruling government that Igbo youth will not vote for them if they do not release Nnamdi Kanu.
“Treating Ndigbo as not even second-class but last-class citizens of Nigeria is no longer acceptable.
“How can we be saying we are one Nigeria but when it comes to political office, they will exclude Ndigbo? Just last week, the President made Board appointments where he made the son of a former Head of State Chairman, but no single Igbo person was involved,” the forum President stated.
For the coalition movement, Igbo Youths Forum has this advice for them.
“We want to tell them bluntly that any coalition that will not cede the presidential ticket to the South will not fly. It will be an injustice for the North to eye the Presidency again after holding power for eight years without allowing the South to complete its own turn.
“All through the eighth years, the late President Muhammadu Buhari was in power; the North did not talk despite all the sufferings, and now that it’s the time of the South, they have suddenly become advocates of good governance.
“So, for us, the South should be allowed to complete their own two terms before power returns to the North.
“We are raising our voice for the President to know that Igbo youths are not happy with the continued detention of Kanu. We are not happy because we feel that our leaders are not telling the President the truth. He should stop listening to Igbo politicians. They are deceiving him. He should heed the voice of the youths and the masses,” Chief Obilor advised.