…to galvanise Igbo political consciousness
…urges Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu, other prisoners of conscience
By Anayo Okoli
ENUGU — A new Igbo socio-political organisation, Igbo Agenda Dialogue (IAD), has been unveiled in Enugu with a mandate to awaken and strengthen Igbo political consciousness towards sustained political and economic development of Ala Igbo.
Unveiling the group on Wednesday, the Convener and National Chairman of IAD, Chief Chekwas Okorie, disclosed that the organisation was inaugurated on August 27, 2025, as a non-partisan, pro-democracy socio-political body of the Igbo people in Nigeria and the Diaspora.
Okorie said the group was established to reset Igbo political engagement in Nigeria by reminding the people of their constitutional rights and responsibilities within the Nigerian state.
“We have undertaken to reach out and constructively engage our aggrieved young men and women to persuade them on the benefits of deploying democratic tools to achieve our legitimate objectives and aspirations in Nigeria,” he said.
The group appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other prisoners of conscience as a New Year gesture to the Igbo people.
“President Tinubu has the constitutional powers to grant this appeal. All he needs is the political will and patriotic disposition to do the needful,” the IAD stated.
To underline its mission, the group announced plans to host the first-ever Igbo Political Summit in Enugu in April 2026.
“This will be the first of its kind, 56 years after the civil war,” Okorie said, adding that the summit would also unveil the first Igbo Political Charter since the Ahiara Declaration.
Reflecting on post-war Nigeria, Okorie noted that although the Federal Government declared a policy of “no victor, no vanquished” at the end of the civil war in 1970, subsequent actions contradicted that position.
He said policies meant for reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the former Eastern Region were largely abandoned, while Igbo people continued to face marginalisation in areas such as federal appointments, infrastructure development and access to seaports.
According to him, frustration arising from perceived injustice drove some Igbo youths to agitate for secession, a development that resulted in instability, economic disruption and loss of lives in parts of the South-East and South-South.
He criticised what he described as the federal government’s heavy-handed response to protests in the region, rather than adopting dialogue-based, non-kinetic approaches.
Okorie said IAD was formed to change the narrative by building a robust and sustainable machinery to mobilise Igbo political participation within the framework of Nigeria’s constitution.
“Never again will the votes of the vast Igbo population be taken for granted and without conditions,” he declared.
He noted that Igbo people are indigenous to at least 13 states and have substantial populations across the remaining states and the Federal Capital Territory, insisting that the group would mobilise them for active participation in national politics.
Describing IAD as an Igbo political grid, Okorie said it would function like Nigeria’s electricity grid by connecting Igbo associations, unions, professional bodies and diaspora networks for rapid communication and coordinated action.
Among its immediate priorities, the group said it would promote mass voter registration, voter education and participation in democratic processes nationwide.
The IAD also set a target of mobilising at least 20 million registered voters in the South-East ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing the goal as achievable with coordinated grassroots engagement.
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