Photo: Chief Chekwas Okorie
By: Daniel Kanu
Chairman of the Igbo Agenda Dialogue, Chief Chekwas Okorie, has urged South-East governors to take urgent steps to prevent the region from becoming a theatre of violence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Okorie warned that the growing resort to intimidation, attacks on opposition members and alleged attempts to restrict political activities could threaten peace and democratic participation in the South-East.
He raised the alarm in a statement made available to the media, alleging that a dangerous trend of seeking political power through conquest rather than the ballot box was spreading across Igboland.
The politician recalled that he had written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu on March 12, 2026, titled “Halt the Brewing Anarchy in Nigeria,” warning of actions by state and non-state actors that could undermine law and order.
He, however, lamented that the appeal had not yielded the desired response.
Okorie cited the reported remarks by an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, who allegedly declared in Kano that Nigerians opposed to the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket should leave the country, claiming that Muslims owned Nigeria.
He described the reported comments as provocative, expressing concern that neither the Federal Government nor security agencies had publicly condemned them.
According to him, the perceived silence could encourage further inflammatory statements and contribute to the escalation of political tensions across the country.
The IAD chairman said the situation was becoming increasingly worrying in the South-East, where he alleged that opposition groups were being attacked by armed thugs during political rallies.
He claimed that some of the attacks lasted for hours, resulting in injuries and deaths, without the perpetrators being arrested.
Okorie also criticised the alleged imposition of exorbitant billboard charges, reportedly running into hundreds of millions of naira for a single board in parts of the region.
He argued that the charges had made it difficult for opposition parties to display campaign materials, while the reported retaliatory removal of billboards belonging to the ruling party could further heighten political tension.
The former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance called on the Imo State Governor and Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma, to convene an emergency meeting of the governors to address the situation.
He said the governors should act swiftly to prevent political disagreements from degenerating into widespread violence and instability.
Okorie warned that the region could face serious consequences if the alleged trend continued, noting that insecurity remained a major challenge in other parts of the country, particularly the North-West and North-East.
He said the South-East governors would be held accountable if their failure to address the situation allowed the region to descend into another conflict, 56 years after the Nigerian Civil War, whose effects, he noted, remained a painful part of Igbo history.
Okorie stressed that political competition should be determined by voters through credible elections rather than intimidation or violence.
“Igbo votes for the 2027 elections can never be obtained by conquest. Ndigbo must remain vigilant and defend their franchise,” he declared.
He urged political leaders, security agencies and other stakeholders to protect citizens’ rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and participation in the electoral process.
The 2027 general elections are expected to test the commitment of political parties and public institutions to peaceful campaigning, electoral fairness and the protection of voters’ rights.
