The first National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, in an interview with The Nigerian Tribune correspondent, shared his views on the ongoing political realignment in the country, the role of the Ndigbo in national politics, and the buildup to the 2027 general election.
When asked if the Igbo would not vote for President Bola Tinubu in 2027, he replied that that was not the issue. He pointed out that he had friends in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and also maintained a very good personal relationship with President Tinubu. According to him, he had grown beyond partisan politics and was now playing the role of an elder statesman.
He stressed that the focus was on organising the Igbo for better political engagement. He, however, emphasised that the South-East would no longer serve as a political fishing ground where politicians came, collected votes, and left. He explained that going forward, anyone who wanted the votes of the Igbo would have to enter into a proper Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with them.
He added that the agreements contained in such an MoU would be made known to the Igbo people, clearly stating why a particular candidate was being supported and the promises made to fulfill their expectations.
Further talking, he said, “We know our votes can make the difference. In 2011, the South-East alone gave former President Goodluck Jonathan seven million votes, but he didn’t do anything for the Igbo people.
“Consequently, in 2015 general election, we gave Jonathan three million votes, four million short of what we gave him in 2011. And how did Buhari win? Buhari defeated him by 2.5million votes, which means if we had repeated what we gave him in 2011, he would have defeated Buhari.
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