The Igbo Heroes and Icons Foundation (IHIF) has appealed to the opposition parties’ committee to adopt the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, as its consensus candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
The foundation said the former Anambra State governor possessed the experience, integrity and economic understanding it considered necessary to steer Nigeria out of its current challenges.
The call was contained in a statement issued by the group’s National Coordinator, Chinedu Nsofor, who said Obi’s performance in Anambra provided evidence of his capacity to manage public resources responsibly.
According to IHIF, Obi was able to settle the state’s outstanding financial commitments, including salaries, pensions, gratuities and debts owed to contractors, while leaving substantial savings for the administration that succeeded him.
“The record speaks for itself. Peter Obi left office with no debt burden on the state, cleared outstanding obligations, paid salaries, pensions, gratuities, contractors and other liabilities, and still handed over substantial savings to his successor,” the foundation said.
It argued that the financial discipline it attributed to Obi was particularly relevant at a time Nigeria was grappling with rising debt, economic hardship and insecurity.
IHIF further based its appeal on what it described as the need to address the perceived political marginalisation of the South-East.
The group noted that the region had not produced an elected president since 1999, saying other parts of the country should reciprocate the support it claimed the Igbo had given presidential candidates from outside the region over the years.
“For decades, the Igbo people have supported presidential candidates from other regions in the spirit of national cohesion. We believe the time has come for other regions to reciprocate that gesture by supporting a credible South-East candidate. That candidate is Peter Obi,” it said.
The foundation also pointed to Obi’s background in the private sector as an additional advantage, saying his business experience could help reposition the Nigerian economy towards greater production and wealth creation.
It identified agriculture and industrialisation as areas where a future administration could focus on expanding domestic production and reducing the country’s dependence on consumption.
While endorsing Obi, IHIF said its position should not be viewed as an exclusively Igbo project.
It called on opposition parties, political leaders and Nigerians across ethnic and religious divides to assess the NDC candidate on the basis of competence and his ability to address the country’s problems.
The foundation said Obi offered, in its assessment, the best opportunity to reverse Nigeria’s economic decline and check what it described as the country’s growing debt burden, poverty and institutional weaknesses.
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