In a startling turn that has sent shockwaves through the corridors of power in Abuja and the drawing rooms of Owerri, the South East Progressive Ambassadors (SEPA) have broken ranks with a tradition of regional scepticism to publicly beseech Ndi-Igbo to endorse President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
Co-ordinated by convener John Ikeotuonye and secretary Justin Nwankwo, SEPA’s statement on Saturday declared that the South-East “would be the greatest losers” if it failed to rally behind the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of a president who, they insist, has shown uncommon courage and vision for their zone.
Yet, this plea comes against a backdrop of deep-seated historical grievances and contemporary perceptions of marginalisation.
The Igbo, numbering an estimated 40 million across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states, still bear the scars of post-Civil War neglect, with infrastructure deficits and communal tensions simmering beneath the surface.
The Southeasterners’ clamour for political rotation—a nod to the unwritten convention that the presidency should eventually migrate to their zone—remains a powerful undercurrent in national discourse.
It is precisely to assuage such resentments that the Tinubu administration has, in the past year, sought to deliver tangible dividends.
On 24 July 2024, the President affixed his signature to the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) Bill, promising a reconstruction of war-scarred roads, rehabilitation of decaying public assets and targeted investments to unlock the region’s latent commercial potential.
Further, the appointment of Chioma Nweze as Senior Special Assistant on Community Engagement for the South-East (SSA-South East) in September 2023 was touted as a move to bridge the chasm between Abuja’s policies and grassroots realities.
Nevertheless, the optics of equity remain troubling. A mishandled release of presidential appointees earlier this year revealed that the South-East secured a mere 16 posts out of 152—a figure that ranked it lowest among the six geo-political zones.
In key security and economic agencies, Igbos have been conspicuously absent, fuelling scepticism that Tinubu’s “fairness, equity and unity” rhetoric is yet to translate into substantive action.
Caste-like suspicions abound that armchair pronouncements have not been matched with boardroom influence.
Security concerns further complicate the calculus. Recent attacks by separatist gunmen, notably the May 2024 ambush in Abia State that claimed 11 lives—including five soldiers—underscore the volatility that still plagues the region.
IPOB’s lingering agitation, even after the arrest of its leader Nnamdi Kanu in 2021, serves as a grim reminder that any political mobilisation in 2027 will be contested not only at the ballot box but on the battleground of public safety and communal trust.
SEPA’s exhortation, however, is unapologetically unapologetic. The group insists that for once, Ndi-Igbo must trade traditional skepticism for strategic alliance, closing ranks and abandoning “backroom and armchair politics” in favour of energetic engagement with the president’s re-election machinery.
They argue that a collective show of support in 2027 will send a seismic message: that the South-East has indeed claimed its rightful seat at the table of national strategic planning.
This narrative, though compelling to some, is equally provocative to others who view it as a Faustian bargain.
Why, critics ask, should a region that still battles endemic erosion, crumbling infrastructure and under-representation countenance a vote bank politics that rewards obeisance over accountability?
The call to “reintegration, reconciliation and reconstruction” rings hollow without clear benchmarks: What sums will flow into the SEDC?
How many senior security, judicial and economic posts will be ceded? And can goodwill alone assure the end of decades-long neglect?
As the calendar inches towards 2027, the choice for Ndi-Igbo could not be starker. To back Tinubu is to embrace a vision of continuity and hope—yet one fraught with the risk of acquiescence to unfulfilled promises.
To withhold support is to reaffirm the demand for genuine power shift and equity, but at the potential cost of alienating the incumbent administration’s patronage.
SEPA’s clarion call is therefore not merely a rallying cry but a high-stakes gambit: a challenge to a president to convert rhetoric into reality, and to a people to decide whether strategic pragmatism or principled resistance will shape their destiny.
Atlantic Post writer Kalada Jumbo contributed to this report.
