Ohanaeze youths finally congratulate Tinubu, urge inclusive government

• IPOB seeks release of Eze-Igbo

Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, has finally congratulated President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) defeated Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), respectively.

Both the PDP and the LP candidates are before the Presidential Election Tribunal, seeking to upturn Tinubu’s emergence. In a statement, yesterday, the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, said the time of electioneering is over.

Okwu said Igbo youths “congratulate Ahmed Bola Tinubu on his victory at the keenly contested election,” adding that it is time to close ranks and work with the President-elect to restore the lost hopes and glory of the country.

He noted: “It was a hard-fought victory. The election shook emotions across the country. And at the end of it all, Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged victorious. We heartily congratulate him and urge others to do same.”

The Igbo Youth President also said proponents of an interim government should jettison such an idea, as Nigeria has to move forward, regardless of what anyone feels about the outcome of the polls.

He said: “Those who feel aggrieved with the outcome of the election are already before the tribunal; so, the ideal thing is to allow the law to run its course.

“Anyone nursing the idea of an interim government should drop it completely as it is dead on arrival.” Okwu, however, urged the incoming Tinubu administration to form an inclusive government as the only way of healing wounds in the country. He said the 2023 elections divided the country more than ever and that it is incumbent upon the Tinubu administration to seek ways of restoring unity.

“We don’t expect a divisive government from the incoming President; he should be a true national leader, and it should reflect in his actions and words. That is the only way the country can truly move forward,” Okwu stressed.

MEANWHILE, following the continued detention of Eze Igbo of Ajao Estate, Fredrick Nwajagu, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, said Nwajagu was cracking a joke over his comment inviting the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to Lagos State.

To this end, Ohanaeze’s Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, urged Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to facilitate Nwajagu’s release. Isiguzoro said Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu should ensure Nwajagu’s release in the interest of national unity and reconciliation.

Recall that Nwajagu was arrested after the 2023 governorship election because he invited IPOB over to Lagos State, following attacks on Igbo-populated markets in the state.