An ex-chieftain of the now defunct National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, Ralph Obioha has called on the people of southeast Nigeria to ignore any calls by individuals/groups asking them to boycott the 2023 general elections.
Obioha had appealed a press statement, revealing that the constant violent activities in the region would affect the voter turnout at the 25 February polls.
The statement partly reads, “This press statement is given as a necessity by certain major factors or issues that I consider very critical to the 2023 general elections.
“The first factor is the epochal candidacy of Peter Obi which, by all credible accounts, has taken the entire country by storm. The Obi phenomenon has been so revolutionary and swift that in as short as a few months, he has come to be seen by many as the candidate to conquer.
“This is why, with the rising violence in Southeast, any questions on election boycott in the region will possibly negatively affect the maximum turnout of voters that is expected in the Southeast on 25th February 2023. This is why I urge all Ndigbo to ignore and caution anyone calling for the 2023 election to be boycotted and prepare themselves to come out en masse and vote.”
The elder statesman has also in the press statement, asked Muhammadu Buhari administration to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu from captivity.
