Ahead of his inauguration on May 29, President-elect Bola Tinubu can appease the Igbo nation by acceding to four requests, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo has said.
Secretary-General of the apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, Okechukwu Isiguzoro made the requests on Wednesday, Daily Post reports.
The Ohanaeze scribe said that the unconditional release of detained Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu would go a long way to restore peace and security in the South East.
Secondly, he said, the President-elect must ensure that the South-East produces the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly for the sake of fairness.
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Isiguzoro said that as a strategist and progressive, Tinubu should ensure that his government is nothing like the outgoing government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Ohanaeze scribe stated that Tinubu’s age is his only drawback, noting that most of the people that derailed the Buhari government were already queueing up behind the president-elect because of his post-2023 election challenges.
“Tinubu must pacify the Southeast with four charter of demands for the region to accept him as President of Nigeria, and for Ndigbos to stand tall and defend his mandate.
“The first is that Tinubu must unconditionally restore peace and security by releasing Nnamdi Kanu, whether he would grant him a presidential pardon from the Eagles Square during his acceptance speech or use the power of the presidency to get him released to restore peace and security in the Southeast.
“Secondly, Tinubu must start the healing process by ensuring that he balances the Muslim-Muslim ticket by giving a Christian from the Southeast the president of the senate. Whoever would be the Senate President must not be ranking Senators who don’t have the character to protect the interest of the country.
“We are calling on the senate to amend their rules and allow first-timers because those who are ranking Senators have dubious characters and can’t represent the interest of Ndigbos.
“Thirdly, Tinubu must put political structures on the ground to ensure that Ndigbo feel the promise that Buhari made to us secretly that he would ensure the region gets a sixth state; Ohanaeze already has a plan for it.
“The President-elect must ensure that all the economic gateways across the country including the reopening of the Calabar wharf, dredging of the Azumiri River, granting IPOB members amnesty, and compensating families killed over the years,” Isiguzoro said.