…Say no politician controls South-East without youths’ consent
The All Igbo Youth Forum (AIYF) has declared that President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) should not expect electoral backing from the South-East in 2027 unless Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is unconditionally released.
The demand was made on Tuesday during a press conference and solidarity rally held at Awka Hall in Umuahia, Abia State, where over 600 youths from the five South-East states gathered to celebrate Kanu’s recent legal victory in Kenya.
The gathering spilled into a protest march on major roads in Umuahia following a June 26 ruling by the High Court in Nairobi, which declared Kanu’s 2021 arrest and extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria as unlawful. The court awarded him 10 million Kenyan shillings in damages for the violation of his rights.
Speaking at the rally, Chinedum Obilor, President General of AIYF and former Deputy Chairman of Umuahia North Local Government Area, stated unequivocally that support for Tinubu’s re-election bid would be withheld unless Kanu is released.
“The real political strength in Igbo land lies with the youths, not senators or governors. The President should not be misled by their hollow assurances. If Kanu remains in custody, we will mobilise against any political party or candidate that refuses to act for his release,” Obilor said.
He accused political elites in the region of leveraging Kanu’s imprisonment for personal ambition, vowing that the youth bloc would hold them to account during the next general elections.
Obilor criticised President Tinubu for disregarding previous appeals from elder statesmen, including Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and the late Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, and asserted that young people are now taking matters into their own hands.
“We are not interested in contracts or favours. This is not about transactional politics. It is about justice. Free Nnamdi Kanu or forget about winning votes in the South-East,” he declared.
The AIYF also issued a firm warning to regional political figures who, according to them, have failed to advocate meaningfully for Kanu’s release.
The group’s statement comes as political blocs nationwide begin manoeuvring ahead of the 2027 elections, with alliances being tested and redrawn across geopolitical zones.
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his rendition to Nigeria from Kenya in 2021.
