2019: Civil society mobilizes 20m Igbos for elections, reemphasizes restructuring

About 20 million Igbos across the country will be mobilised to exercise their civic rights in the 2019 general elections.

This is just as restructuring will be a major cardinal agenda in the direction of the Igbos in the elections.

The pan Igbo organisation, the Igbo Public Affairs Foundation (IPAF) made this known as part of the decisions reached at the end of its one-day strategic and sensitisation roundtable held in Abuja.

At a media parley with journalists and some civil society organisations (CSOs) following the adoption of its communiqué reached at the end of the meeting, IPAF president and convener, Hon. Uzor George Tiga, said it had become pertinent to review political activities in the country viz-a-viz Igbo participation in politics as the build-up to the elections commences.

While denouncing the call for the boycott of the 2019 general elections by the Igbos, the group said the call for restructuring was no longer a joke and hence the need for a change of strategy by Igbo political class; with a view to prioritizing the participation and nurturing of Ndigbo to hold political offices.

“The call for restructuring of Nigeria is no longer a joke, it is a task we must vote for as IPAF will mobilize 20million Igbo voters to discharge civic rights come 2019; both within and outside the Southeast without any fear of intimidation by anybody.

“We remain resolute that Ndigbo shall determine the 2019 general elections in Nigeria and hence condemn in strongest terms, the undemocratic call for 2019 general election boycott in the South East,” the group stated.

IPAF said it commended Igbos political leaders for timely resolution of their political impasse and now solidly supporting one of their own as a Vice Presidential Candidate, stating that this was how to show that Igbos could speak with one voice.

“We shall study the manifestoes of all the different presidential candidates before making our endorsement even as all IPAF structures have been mandated to, as a matter of urgency, start popularizing this communiqué in their respective states and at the grassroots,” the group emphasised.