‘Support Tinubu’s govt to succeed’ — Iwuanyanwu tells Igbos

High Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, has called on the Igbos in Nigeria and in the Diaspora to support President Bola Tinubu’s government to succeed.

Iwuanyanwu said this when he received the leadership and members of the Igbo Community Assembly in his Abuja home on Thursday.

The former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said although the Igbos did not vote for Tinubu during the 2023 general election because they believed it should have been the turn of the South East, he said, nonetheless, the Igbos will give every support to make sure that the current government succeeds and bring succour to Nigerians.

He said the President is for all Nigerians because the apex court in the land declared him as the duly elected president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He noted that should Nigeria fail as a country; it is the Igbos that will suffer the most because they have invested in the country more than any other tribes and believe in the unity of the country.

Iwuanyanwu said, “I want to let you know that during the last general election, we didn’t vote for the present administration, but he (Tinubu) has been declared the President of Nigeria by the Electoral Commission. The court has declared him up to the Supreme Court. So, as your leader, I have proclaimed that Igbos, as good citizens of Nigeria, will support him. We are going to support him because we want Nigeria to be a success. If Nigeria fails, the Igbos are going to suffer more than any tribe.

“If Nigeria is a corporate body like a company, I think we (Igbos) have more investments than many other tribes. Like Abuja, for example, the Igbos have a lot of investment here. So, if Nigeria has a problem, Igbos are going to suffer. So, if the government fails, Igbos will suffer more than any other groups because Igbos have more investments in most parts of the country than other groups.

“I think it is my duty as your leader to say that we are going to give every support we can to help the government to succeed. But we also expect the government to reciprocate the gesture by ensuring that what belongs to us is given to us. Nobody likes a situation where what he has is taken from him.

“You all know that the President worked for MKO Abiola, and Abiola was my friend. I knew him (Tinubu) that time through Abiola. Indeed, we didn’t support him during the election because we believe that he should be an Igbo person. Now, we have no reason not to support him, and I don’t have anything whatsoever against him. All we require now is to expect him to ensure that what belongs to us and what we have already is not taken away from us.”