The Southeast chapter of the Renewed Hope for Greater Nigeria (RHGN) has started a political push to persuade former Anambra State governor and Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
The group’s Southeast leader, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, disclosed this in Owerri on Saturday after a meeting focused on strategies to deliver victory for Tinubu across the five Southeast states.
According to Ngoforo, the organisation plans to approach the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, led by Senator John Azuta Mbata, as well as prominent Igbo elder statesmen, including Chief Emeka Anyaoku and Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe.
He said the group would ask the respected leaders to lead a delegation to Obi and appeal to him to reconsider his 2027 presidential ambition in the broader interest of Ndigbo.
Ngoforo stressed that the proposed move was not aimed at undermining Obi’s political influence or questioning his presidential ambition, but at encouraging him to prioritise what he described as the long-term strategic interests of the Southeast.
The RHGN leader argued that the Southeast could secure greater political advantage by building a strategic alliance with the Southwest, particularly given that Tinubu would be constitutionally limited to one additional term if re-elected.
He said such an arrangement could potentially position the Southeast for stronger political prospects when power next returns to the South.
Rather than viewing the 2027 election simply as a contest between winners and losers, Ngoforo urged Ndigbo to see it as an opportunity to build political goodwill, forge alliances and establish reciprocal commitments with other regions.
He further appealed to Obi to consider stepping aside in 2027 not as an abandonment of his presidential ambition, but as a strategic postponement until what he described as the appropriate time.
“The issue is bigger than one election and bigger than one individual,” Ngoforo said, insisting that the political question before Ndigbo should be how to turn today’s alliances into tomorrow’s presidency.
The group said its planned engagement with Ohanaeze and the elder statesmen would form part of its broader campaign to mobilise support for Tinubu across the Southeast ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
