- Ohanaeze described El-Rufai as a political leper who will become a burden and liability to any party he identifies with.
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has revealed its choice of president candidate for the 2027 general election.
The group said any political coalition that guarantees an automatic 2027 presidential ticket to a candidate of Igbo extraction, accompanied by a Northern running mate, would get its backing.
Ohanaeze stated that any other realignment outside this demand is destined to failure.
This was contained in a joint statement issued on Tuesday by Ohanaeze’s factional Deputy President-General, Okechukwu Isigozoro, and Chief Chinenyeze Thompson Ohia.
Ohanaeze was reacting to the defection of the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Ohanaeze described El-Rufai as a political leper who will become a burden and liability to any party he identifies with.
The statement read: “In light of his past governance and the consequential suffering experienced by the Igbo and Christian communities during his administration, we resolutely characterize El-Rufai as a political leper and a liability to any party he aligns himself with, particularly the SDP.
According to Ohanaeze, “During his tenure as Kaduna State governor from 2015 to 2023, El-Rufai presided over an administration that was fraught with serious allegations of violence and persecution directed against Igbos and the Christian populace of Southern Kaduna.
“The scars of traumatic experiences endured by these communities should not be overlooked. It is only appropriate that El-Rufai seeks public absolution by issuing a formal apology to the Nigerian people, as well as to Christian leaders and the affected communities, for his failure to protect their lives and livelihoods amid escalating violence.
“His lack of accountability during those turbulent years underscores a disqualifying flaw in his leadership, which must be addressed before any claim to legitimacy can be made.
“Moreover, El-Rufai must publicly renounce his prior declarations made in 2023, wherein he contended that the impetus for the Muslim-Muslim 2023 APC presidential ticket was rooted in a design for Islamic political supremacy in Nigeria.
“We demand clarity on his role and responsibility for the tragic deaths and insecurity that plagued Kaduna State under his watch.
“Until he furnishes a detailed account and a transparent admission of his failures, El-Rufai will remain perceived as a political leper—one whose presence in any political domain jeopardizes its integrity and viability.
“While Ohanaeze Ndigbo has observed the coalition of opposition leaders mobilizing around the SDP in anticipation of the 2027 elections, we must emphatically voice our position without ambiguity:
“Unless this coalition provides an automatic 2027 SDP presidential ticket to a candidate of Igbo descent and a Christian, accompanied by a Northern running mate, any attempt to realign outside this framework is doomed to failure.
“Should they consider the SDP a Northern party that merely requires South Eastern cooperation to sustain a Northern candidate, let it be known—such a strategy is unequivocally dead on arrival.
“Furthermore, we stand firm in our adherence to the principle of a Southern presidency, consistent with the gentleman’s agreement regarding the rotational leadership arrangement between the North and South.
Highlighting further, Ohanaeze stated that allowing a Northern candidate to serve additional years post-Buhari’s eight-year tenure is simply unacceptable, adding that Nigerians will categorically reject any maneuver that seeks to subvert the Southern presidency until 2031.
Reminding El-Rufai that his path to redemption lies in authentic reconciliation with the historical wounds he has caused, the group stated that his political future hinges on his willingness to engage sincerely with the injustices that have marked his political legacy, noting that until such a time, Ohanaeze Ndigbo will not engage with any political party that associates with El-Rufai
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