The Ohanaeze Youth Council has warned President Bola Tinubu that his chances of winning support in the South-East during the 2027 presidential election could suffer if Nnamdi Kanu remains in prison.
The group said it would mobilise voters against Tinubu at polling units across Nigeria if the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was not released before the election.
Its President-General, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, gave the warning on Friday, November 13, 2026, after visiting Kanu at Sokoto Correctional Centre.
Kanu’s detention becomes election issue
Igboayaka said Kanu had gained significant political influence among the Igbo people, particularly young people, through his campaign for the political survival of the South-East and South-South.
He compared Kanu’s influence with that of the late Igbo leader, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, whom he said had also won the hearts of Ndigbo.
The OYC president warned that Tinubu would make a serious political mistake by assuming he could secure even five per cent of the votes in the old Eastern Region, particularly the South-East.
He said Kanu’s release through a political solution could improve the President’s chances of receiving support from the Igbo electorate in 2027.
Igboayaka maintained that resolving Kanu’s detention would help achieve national healing and reconciliation, which could encourage Ndigbo to consider supporting Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
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He also questioned the political influence of South-East governors, including Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, Hope Uzodimma of Imo and Charles Soludo of Anambra.
Others he mentioned were former Ebonyi Governor David Nweze Umahi, Enugu Governor Peter Mbah and Abia Governor Alex Otti.
Igboayaka said these political leaders could lose the support of their people if they campaigned for Tinubu’s re-election without first securing Kanu’s release.
He specifically warned that governors and other political leaders who openly supported Tinubu under those conditions could face rejection from voters.
Council demands political solution
The OYC president asked Tinubu to pursue national reintegration by addressing the agitation for Biafra through dialogue and negotiation.
He said the demand for self-determination by IPOB could only be addressed through discussions, not court proceedings, intimidation, harassment or imprisonment.
Igboayaka also challenged Uzodimma, Soludo, Nwifuru, Mbah and Senator Umahi to consider the political consequences of Kanu’s continued detention.
He warned that Igbo voters living across Nigeria and abroad would reject Tinubu at the polling units if Kanu remained in custody during the 2027 election.
The council said its warning covered the entire country, not just the South-East, as it maintained that Ndigbo across the 36 states would take part in the planned political response.
WHAT READERS SHOULD KNOW
The Ohanaeze Youth Council is an Igbo sociocultural youth organisation led by Igboayaka O. Igboayaka.
Its warning places Kanu’s detention directly within its position on the 2027 presidential election and the political choices of South-East leaders.
The council’s position also identifies dialogue and negotiation as its preferred means of addressing IPOB’s agitation for self-determination.
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