A youth group under the aegis of All Igbo Youth Forum (AIYF) has warned opposition politicians that any coalition put together for the purpose of giving presidential ticket to a northerner in 2027 would fail woefully.
The National President of AIYF, Chief Chinedum Obilor gave the warjing Tuesday July 22, 2025 at a press conference in Umuahia, sayihg that it would be a fatal political mistake for any political party or coalition of parties to field a presidential candidate from outside the southern part of Nigeria.
“For the coalition, we want to tell them bluntly that any coalition that will not cede the presidential ticket to the South will not fly,” he said.
“It will be injustice for the North to eye the Presidency again after holding power for eight years without allowing the South to complete its own (eight-year) term”.
Obilor said that Northern politicians have no reason to be angling to take back power before 2031 given that the current southern Presidency still has six more years to run, having barely lasted a little over two years in what is expected to span eight years.
The youth leader chided northern political leaders for their inordinate craving for political power thereby giving the impression that the North cannot survive outside holding political power at the centre.
He reminded northern politicians that the South-East zone “has not tasted power again since after the assassination of Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi (in 1966) but we’re still surviving”.
“So, the coalition should not make the mistake of giving its presidential ticket to a Northerner,” Obilor insisted.
The leader of the All Igbo Youth Forum wondered why the North has suddenly discovered its voice because Nigeria’s current president is from the southern part of the country.
“All through the eighth years the late President Muhammadu Buhari was in power, the North did not talk despite all the sufferings, and now 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,” he stated.
Obilor, again reminded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that youths in Igboland were still waiting for him to heed their demand of granting freedom to Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing “a politically-motivated trial”.
He said that youths have remained calm over Kanu’s continued detention “because the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu assured us that they are talking with Mr. President about Nnamdi Kanu”.
According to him, the Deputy Speaker “pleaded with us to be calm, assuring of positive outcome of their engagement with Tinubu”.
He said: “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 (in detention) 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”.
Obilor, who is a former DeputyChairmanof Umuahia North Local Government, restated that Igbo youths would take their demand for Kanu’s release a notch further if the prssidency continues to foot drag over Kanu’s issue.
“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.
“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 said.
The All Igbo Youth Forum leader urged President Tinubu to “heed the voice of the youths and the masses” because these groups of Nigerians, and not politicians, would decide his fate come 2027.
