The retired Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Onaiyekan, says the Igbo people in the South-east should be allowed to pick their own presidential candidate without any interference from governors.
Mr Onaiyekan, who is a cardinal, made this statement on Thursday during a chat with Afia TV in Enugu.
The cleric was in Enugu for the 22nd Conference of the Guild of Editors. He was responding to Governor Charles Soludo's remarks about the upcoming 2027 presidential election.
Governor Soludo has repeatedly said that the Igbo should not “waste their votes” on the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate, Peter Obi, because, in his opinion, Obi cannot win.
The governor has openly shown his support for President Bola Tinubu, who is running for re-election under the All Progressives Congress.
When Onaiyekan was asked about Soludo's comments, he clearly stated that Soludo or any other governor should not decide for the Igbos.
“I don’t know what Soludo has told Ndigbo. All I can say is that Ndigbo should be allowed to choose who should be their president freely,” he said.
The cardinal pointed out that even though governors are elected representatives, they should not control how Nigerians vote.
“It is not the duty of governors to teach, to tell people how they should vote,” he remarked.
“The governors will have their own votes now. Every governor will be able to vote. He will vote for himself. Let others do.”
Onaiyekan stressed that elections give Nigerians a chance to show their political choices.
He encouraged everyone to freely use their voting rights during elections.
“At least, that’s the only opportunity that we have to express our minds. Let us do it,” he concluded.
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