The National President of the Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, has strongly warned against any attempt to intimidate voters in Lagos State ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly in areas with large Igbo populations.
Speaking during an interview with THE WHISTLER, Igboayaka said the group would resist any form of voter suppression, stressing that Igbos residing in Lagos are determined to freely exercise their constitutional rights without fear.
“We are going to vote. There is nobody born on earth that can intimidate an Igbo man. There is nobody born by a woman who can intimidate an Igbo man in a polling unit,” he said, adding that the group has adopted a stance it described as “Egwu Suru Gede” as its code for the 2027 elections.
The OYC leader referenced experiences from the 2023 general elections, where there were reports of voter intimidation in parts of Lagos, especially in Igbo-dominated areas. Despite those challenges, he maintained that the outcome in the state demonstrated the resolve of voters.
“They tried that in 2023, and you saw what happened in Lagos. Peter Obi won massively,” he said.
Igboayaka further warned that any individual or group planning to deploy violence or intimidation in future elections should reconsider, insisting that affected communities would not back down.
“We are going to follow them eye for eye and tooth for tooth,” he stated.
He, however, encouraged political actors across party lines to focus on mobilisation and persuasion rather than coercion, urging supporters of both former Anambra State governor Peter Obi and President Bola Tinubu to canvass votes peacefully.
“They should mobilise and convince people to vote for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while the people who believe in Obi should also mobilise and vote for Peter Obi. At the polling unit, we know who is right and who is the strongest.
“That is the simple truth. But for anybody thinking that he will use intimidation or violence to scare the Igbos away, that person should get prepared. That person should get prepared because we have said it is Egwu Suru Gede,” he added.
The remarks come amid ongoing conversations about voter protection, electoral integrity, and ethnic tensions in Nigeria’s political landscape as stakeholders begin early positioning for the 2027 polls.
THE WHISTLER reports that in a viral video shared on X (formerly Twitter) in 2023, the former Chairman of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, threatened at a gathering that Igbo voters in the state should stay away from polling units if they would not vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Similarly, the current spokesman to President Tinubu, and former campaign spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, warned the Igbo against interfering in Lagos politics.
“Let 2023 be the last time of Igbo interference in Lagos politics. Let there be no repeat in 2027. Lagos is like Anambra, Imo, any Nigerian state. It is not No Man’s Land, not Federal Capital Territory. It is Yoruba land. Mind your business,” he wrote on X.
