POLITICS
2027: Igbo Group Recalls 2018 Communiqué, Urges Peter Obi to Accept VP Slot, To Run With Atiku
STATEMENT BY SOUTH EAST PATRIOTS (SEP) ON THE NIKE LAKE RESORT COMMUNIQUÉ OF NDI IGBO
The South East Patriots (SEP) wish to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the historic Nike Lake Resort Communiqué of November 14, 2018, issued by prominent Igbo leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, women groups, and eminent statesmen across Igbo land.
At that landmark meeting, our revered leaders – among them Prof. Ben Nwabueze SAN, Chief Nnia Nwodo, Amb. George Obiozor, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Archbishop Maxwell Anikwenwa, Prof. ABC Nwosu, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Igwe Alfred Achebe (Obi of Onitsha), and many others – unanimously endorsed the Atiku Abubakar/Peter Obi presidential ticket as the most realistic and visible path to Igbo political survival within the Nigerian federation.
Prof. Ben Nwabueze, a titan of constitutional law and conscience of the nation, described the Atiku/Obi project as his last political wish before joining his ancestors. He and the other leaders emphasised that the restructuring agenda contained in that ticket was not just about elections, but about the very survival, equity, and inclusion of Ndigbo in Nigeria.
Today, as SEP, we categorically state: Nothing has changed since that Nike Lake Resort declaration.
The marginalisation of Ndigbo has not abated.
Nigeria remains dangerously divided.
The demand for restructuring remains urgent and unresolved.
The joint vision of equity, fairness, and national unity, championed at Nike Lake, is still the most realistic route for Ndigbo and Nigeria’s survival.
We are not against any individual or group. We stand, as our fathers and leaders stood at Nike Lake, for justice, fairness, restructuring, and the political survival of our people.
The communique was clear then, and it remains valid today.
SEP therefore calls on all Igbo sons and daughters, political leaders, traditional institutions, religious authorities, and youth movements to rally around the spirit and letter of the Nike Lake Resort Communiqué, for in it lies the continuity of our struggle for equity and the actualisation of our rightful place in Nigeria.
Since the Nike Lake Resort Communiqué, Ndi Igbo have not gathered again to collectively deliberate or negotiate on the shortest route to the Presidency of Nigeria of South East extraction. The Nike Lake Resort Communiqué therefore remains the standing position of Ndi Igbo.
We in SEP firmly believe that nothing has changed since that communiqué. A people must be trusted, and their word must be their bond.
Accordingly, SEP calls on Ndi Igbo in particular, and Nigerians in general, to ensure that the intents and purposes of the Nike Lake resolution are fully honoured. The tears of our elders shall never be in vain.
SEP remains committed to working tirelessly to ensure that the last wish of Prof. Ben Nwabueze and the collective resolve of Ndi Igbo at Nike Lake Resort are realised.
We cannot forget the powerful moment, broadcast live on national television and emblazoned on the front pages of newspapers, when the late Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN) embraced Atiku Abubakar upon his arrival at Nike Lake Resort, shedding tears of hope for the survival of his people. Those tears of our elders shall never be in vain.
SEP shall work tirelessly, with faith and unity, to ensure that the last wish of Prof. Nwabueze and the collective resolve of Ndi Igbo at Nike Lake Resort are actualised. Some of us attended the meeting with our elders and still believe in the contents and spirits of the communique.
We stand where our fathers stood.
We echo what our leaders echoed.
The Nike Lake position remains our position.
Signed:
Bar. Obunike Ohaegbu (Anambra State) – Convener
Bar. Ambrose Ugbaja (Imo State) – Secretary
The Nigeria Democratic Congress has fixed October 20 for the inauguration of its Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 general elections, with its national chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, insisting that the party remains united behind its presidential ticket.
Cleopas disclosed this on Saturday at a press briefing in Abuja, saying the inauguration would take place during a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee, where key decisions on its preparations for the elections would also be ratified.
He said the party would present Certificates of Return to its candidates and hold a dinner to strengthen cooperation ahead of the polls.
He said, “The propaganda that our party is not committed to the elections is definitely a sign of fear in the camp of the ruling party.
“In preparation for full campaign takeoff, we have proposed a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the party on October 20.
“It is at that NEC meeting that we will officially inaugurate the NDC Presidential Campaign Council and ratify certain key decisions related to the 2027 General Election.”
The chairman said the party was prioritising the composition of the council to ensure that members were suitable for the responsibilities they would be given.
“It is better to get it right. It is a sensitive election that we are going into. And we must check characters,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State has put to rest speculation over its governorship ticket, with the state Chairman, Hon. Chijioke Chukwu, reaffirming Eric Opah as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general election.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with FLO 94.9 FM, Chukwu declared that all controversies surrounding the party’s primaries have been resolved, and the results announced by the primary election committee — and subsequently ratified by the APC National Working Committee — remain valid and binding.
“The results of the primaries as announced by the primary election committee and ratified by the National Working Committee stand,” Chukwu said. He stressed that Eric Opah is the authentic governorship candidate of the APC in Abia State.
The chairman called on all party members to bury their differences and close ranks in order to build a formidable APC ahead of the 2027 polls.
In the same interview, Chukwu also confirmed that Hon. Erondu Uchenna will be the party’s candidate for the Abia South Senatorial District seat in the upcoming elections.
The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Bolaji Abdullahi, has alleged that Justice Peter Lifu acted in contempt of court by issuing a judgment that deregistered the ADC and four other political parties despite a pending appeal.
According to Abdullahi, the Court of Appeal had directed that no action should be taken on the matter until the appeal is heard on October 27. He argued that proceeding with the judgment before the appellate court’s determination amounts to a disregard for the court’s directive.
“Justice Peter Lifu, the judge who gave the judgment that deregistered the ADC and four other parties, should be arrested. The Appeal Court said don’t act until the case is heard on October 27. He’s acting in contempt of court,” Abdullahi stated.
The remarks add a new dimension to the legal and political controversy surrounding the status of the affected political parties, with the matter expected to be further addressed when the appeal comes up for hearing.
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