The youth wing of pan-Igbo socio cultural group Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has reacted to the threat issued to Igbos to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the Saturday, April 11, 2015 gubernatorial election or die by the Oba of lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, giving the monarch a 48-hour ultimatum to retract his statement or face the wrath of the Igbos.
Speaking via a statement issued on Monday, April 6, 2015, the President of OYC, Okechukwu Isiguzoro said the Oba’s utterances was “a despicable insult on the Igbo nation home and abroad least expected of a royal father in the rank of Oba of Lagos.”
Isiguzoro said: “Igbo youths will not take this insult lightly, and unless he apologises within 48 hours, he should know he is courting our wrath,” adding, “Nobody, no matter what he thinks he is, has the right to command Ndigbo anywhere on who to vote for in a democratic setting.
“Ndigbo have remained the most persecuted, hated and marginalised tribe in Nigeria, yet the most enterprising and highest contributors to the growth of its economy, peace and unity.
“In as much as we do not want to get involved in Lagos politics, we want to sound a note of warning that no Igbo should be vilified or persecuted for his or her electoral choice in Lagos or any part of Nigeria.
“Every Nigerian has the constitutional right to reside in any part of the country and participate in the electoral process based on ones convictions, and electoral choice is not a crime.”
