Ogbonnia said the political climate is in the favour of the South-East with the emergence of Peter Obi as the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has said the chances of an Igbo man becoming President in 2023 is very high.

Ohanaze asked members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) not to jeopardize the opportunity especially as Peter Obi of Labour Party is a frontline candidate enjoying massive support from Nigerian youths.

Ohanaeze’s spokesperson, Alex Ogbonnia, stated this over the weekend while reacting to a protest by IPOB members in Aba, Abia State, over the non-release of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, by the Federal Government.

In a chat with The Punch, Ogbonnia said the political climate is in the favour of the South-East with the emergence of Peter Obi as the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

He urged members of the proscribed group not to ruin the chances of the South-East in the pursuit of the region’s legitimate rights and allow peace to reign.

Ogbonnia added that some Igbo elders led by the leader of Ohanaeze, Prof George Obiozor, were engaging with President Muhammadu Buhari to seek Kanu’s release.

The Ohanaeze spokesman, therefore, asserted that it would be disastrous for IPOB members to ruin the system that the elders of the region had struggled to build.

He said: “Our position on this matter has been constant on the matter. Nothing is ever solved with violence. In the first place, the president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ambassador George Obiozor, has already teamed up with other Igbo elders to engage the president and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, (Major General) Muhammadu Buhari (retd), to seek Nnamdi Kanu’s release.

“That engagement is in process and we are confident of that. We want to believe that the President will understand the viewpoints of the Igbo elders and do the needful. I want to also believe that this effort will be successful.

“We have often advised our young boys that they have every reason to agitate. They have sufficient reason to do so. However, they should listen to us as elders, especially when the political climate is favourable to the South-East. We cannot at this time create a Frankenstein – a monster that will destroy us. We don’t want to play into the enemy’s territory. We advise our youths to take it easy. We are doing a lot of work to see how we can overcome some of these challenges.’’