Below is a stronger, independently structured version for PLATFORM TIMES, Zainab Abioye
A South-East political pressure group, Renewed Hope for Greater Nigeria, has begun moves to persuade the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The group said it would approach the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and prominent Igbo statesmen, including former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and former Chief of General Staff, Ebitu Ukiwe, to intervene in the matter.
The proposal followed a meeting of the South-East chapter of RHGN on Saturday, where members deliberated on strategies to secure support for Tinubu across the five South-East states ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The group’s leader, Franklin Ngoforo, said the planned intervention was not aimed at undermining Obi’s political influence but at persuading him to consider what he described as the long-term political interests of Ndigbo.
Ngoforo said the group would engage the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo under John Mbata and seek the support of the elder statesmen to lead a delegation to Obi.
According to him, the South-East should look beyond the immediate contest for the presidency and consider how political alliances could position the region to secure the nation’s highest office in the future.
He argued that supporting Tinubu in 2027 could create a strategic political relationship between the South-East and South-West, which, he said, could yield reciprocal political benefits when presidential power next changes hands.
Ngoforo said Tinubu, if re-elected, would constitutionally be limited to another term, making the 2027 election an opportunity for the South-East to build political goodwill and negotiate a stronger position for a future presidential bid.
He urged Obi to consider postponing his presidential ambition rather than abandoning it, arguing that stepping down in 2027 would not necessarily mark the end of his political journey.
“The issue is bigger than one election and bigger than one individual,” Ngoforo said.
He added that the critical question before the Igbo political class was how to transform present-day political alliances into a realistic pathway towards the presidency in the future.
Ngoforo maintained that Ndigbo should approach the 2027 election as an opportunity to establish reciprocal political commitments with other regions rather than viewing it solely as a contest to be won or lost.
The group’s position, however, comes as political alignments ahead of the 2027 presidential election continue to generate intense debate, with opposition politicians and groups exploring different permutations to challenge the incumbent administration.
Obi, a former Anambra State governor, emerged as a major political force after his performance in the 2023 presidential election and has remained at the centre of discussions over the opposition’s strategy for 2027.
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