Buhari’s Death: Ohanaeze Warns Tinubu Against Opposition Coalition

By Alex Odeh

The pan Igbo scio-cultural organization Ohanaeze Ndigbo has called on President Bola Tinubu to be weary of plots of the opposition coalition planing to capitalize on the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari to score a political point in the North.

A press statement issued on Thursday in Abakaliki and signed by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Deputy President-General Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said the opposition coalition has Mr. Peter Obi presents a formidable challenge that calls for the Presidency to be focused and committed.

According to him, the Federal Government must address longstanding Igbo aspirations, including the establishment of the sixth Southeast state, the reopening of the Calabar seaports, the completion of all ongoing federal road projects, the modernization of railway infrastructure through the replacement of single gauge lines with standard gauge railways, including the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu.

He said, ” The opposition coalition, comprising the All Progressives Congress’s formidable adversaries—former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra Governor Peter Obi, former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, among others—are meticulously positioning themselves to capitalize on the political vacuum left in the North by the late President Buhari.

“Their calculated stratagem aims to lure President Tinubu into a distracting political contest, thereby diverting his administration’s attention from the paramount task of delivering democratic dividends to the Nigerian populace.

“It is our resolute position that Nigerians do not desire an octogenarian presidency by 2027. At seventy-eight years of age, Atiku Abubakar does not constitute a credible threat to President Tinubu’s re-election bid. Conversely, the political ascendancy of Mr. Peter Obi presents a formidable challenge that the Presidency must address with renewed vigor and strategic recalibration.

“Failure to adapt and respond effectively to the pressing needs of the nation—particularly in the realms of economic policy reform, national restructuring, infrastructural development, security enhancement, and food security—will severely undermine President Tinubu’s prospects.

“The Federal Government must urgently overhaul its policy framework, prioritizing these critical sectors to restore public confidence and foster sustainable national development. Pursuit of the late President Buhari’s erstwhile support base, while politically tempting, constitutes a perilous booby trap meticulously laid by the opposition coalition to distract the Presidency from its primary mandate of governance and service delivery.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo unequivocally asserts that the principal political challenge confronting the Presidency is not Atiku Abubakar’s ambition, which is widely perceived as untenable, but rather the burgeoning influence and political ambition of Peter Obi.

“The Presidency’s disproportionate focus on Mr. Obi, to the detriment of governance, is both unwarranted and counterproductive. With twenty months remaining before the 2027 elections, the administration has ample opportunity to consolidate its achievements and present a compelling record of verified projects and policies that tangibly improve the lives of Nigerians.

“Furthermore, Ohanaeze Ndigbo reiterates the urgent need for the Federal Government to address longstanding Igbo aspirations, including the establishment of the sixth Southeast state, the reopening of the Calabar seaports, the completion of all ongoing federal road projects, the modernization of railway infrastructure through the replacement of single gauge lines with standard gauge railways, and the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu”,he said.