The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has denied reports that it endorsed Bola Tinubu for president in 2023.
According to Sahara Reporters, President of the group, Igboayaka O. Igboayaka denied ever supporting the presidential ambition of Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to Igboayaka, nothing can make the Igbo race jeopardise her project as regards the 2023 South-East presidency.
Tinubu, a former Lagos governor from South-West Nigeria, is running for President in 2023. Meanwhile, many southeasterners and some voices in the other regions have canvassed that the presidency should be zoned to the South-East.
However, a statement by the OYC on Tuesday said its position is contrary to the recent report by some “unscrupulous element and self-acclaimed leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, one Miracle Nwosu, over a purported endorsement of Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, by Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in his quest for the 2023 presidential race”.
Reacting to a recent statement made by Miracle Nwosu, Igboayaka in the statement said, "The Ohanaeze Youth Council remains the apex youth organization of Ndigbo in the world that is championing the Nigeria president of South-East extraction 2023, and that there is nothing on earth that can make Igbo youths to jeopardize this project via 2023.”
The statement also said, “If Mr. Miracle Nwosu is a man, let him identify who he is, tell us where he's living, tell us his village if he is a man. We are using this opportunity to warn any politician that wants to use Ohanaeze Youth Council’s name to cajole Ohanaeze Youth Council in the name of endorsing any political presidential aspirants in 2023 that is not from South East Zone."
Igboayaka also warned Bola Tinubu and his presidential team "to stop this unnecessary media hype or trying to find some street boys they would entice with money, thus using them as a tool to write this type of trash on media”.
“It's better that Tinubu keeps his money because his money cannot change the minds of the Igbo youths thereby compromising this project.
“Mr. Bola Tinubu should be very careful; we are warning Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his presidential team to be very very careful in trying to do anything that will malign the interest of Southeast in the 2023 presidential project.
"The Ohanaeze Youth Council, under the leadership of Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka is 100% determined to actualize the Nigerian president of Southeast extraction by 2023. This project is timely and cannot be equated, sub-changed, or changed with anything, either it is South East presidency 2023 or Southeast ceases to be part of Nigeria," Igboayaka added.