3
The Convener and National Chairman of the Igbo Agenda Dialogue (IAD), Chief Chekwas Okorie, on Wednesday called for a decisive political reawakening of the Igbo nation.
Speaking at a press conference in Enugu, Okorie declared that the era of political marginalization sustained by apathy and disunity must come to an end.
He said Nigeria’s failure to fully implement post-war reconciliation policies has continued to fuel alienation and mistrust among the Igbo, 56 years after the civil war officially ended. “The promise of No Victor, No Vanquished was observed more in words than in action,” he said.
He lamented what he described as persistent structural exclusion of the Southeast, citing abandoned seaports, limited federal presence, and the sidelining of qualified Igbo professionals from key national appointments.
“Our legitimate cries were met with ridicule instead of empathy,” Okorie noted.
According to him, the frustration bred by these conditions pushed many youths toward extreme options, destabilizing parts of the Southeast and South-South. “What we witnessed was anger born of exclusion, not criminality,” he said.
He urged a shift from military responses to dialogue-driven engagement.
Okorie announced that the Igbo Agenda Dialogue, inaugurated in August 2025, was established to reset Igbo political engagement within Nigeria’s constitutional framework. “IAD is non-partisan, pro-democracy, and anchored on one principle: One for All, All for One,” he declared.
He revealed that the group plans to host the first Igbo Political Summit in 56 years in Enugu in April 2026, where an Igbo Political Charter, the first since the historic Ahiara Declaration, will be unveiled, noting, “This is about strategy, structure, and collective direction,” he said.
On electoral participation, Okorie described voter apathy in the Southeast as “self-inflicted disempowerment,” noting that only about 2.2 million voters participated in the 2023 presidential election.
“The voter’s card is more powerful than any weapon.”
“Let us resolve that at the end of the exercise, the Southeast geopolitical zone should return an impressive figure of at least 20 million registered voters before the 2027 general election.
0Similarly, since it is a known fact that the Igbo people who leave outside Igboland are more in number by a reasonable margin, let us also resolve that an aggregate number of those who will register and participate in the 2027 general election in the rest of the states of Nigeria will not be less than 15 million voters. adding. With a voting force of about 35 million voters, our place of pride, relevance, and respect will be restored without firing a shot.” Okorie said.
The IAD leader also pledged sustained voter education, advocacy, and mobilisation across Nigeria and the diaspora, leveraging what he called the “vast Igbo global network” for coordinated political action.
Okorie urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other detainees as a confidence-building gesture.
“The President has the constitutional powers. What is required is political will,” he said.
He expressed optimism for the future, declaring 2026 “a year of self-rediscovery, unity, and political resurgence for Ndigbo.
He thereby called on all Igbo stakeholders to embrace democratic participation as the path forward.
Read the full article here
