A former chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition, Chief Ralph Obioha, says the 2023 presidential election is a referendum on one Nigeria, calling on the Ndigbo to vote and not boycott the polls.

He added that the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, has the backing of Igbo elders.

Describing Obi’s candidacy as revolutionary, Obioha said the LP candidate had within a few months become the candidate to beat in the presidential election.

The Igbo elder stated these in a statement on Monday, which he made available to journalists.

He said, “The Obi phenomenon is so revolutionary and swift that, in as short as just a few months, he has come to be seen by many as the candidate to beat.

“On my part as someone having the abiding authority of Igbo elder statesmen to speak on their behalf on issues like this, I make bold to say that, along with the vast majority of Nigerians, Igbo elder statesmen are solidly behind Obi; not merely because he is Igbo but because he unarguably possesses the high character and fitness to be a President.

“In the recent past, there have been innuendos from certain familiar quarters that ranking Igbo elder statesmen, such as myself, are not behind Obi. Nothing can be further from the truth. The latent truth is that Igbo elder statesmen did not wish to be seen as jumping out to support Obi just because he is Igbo.

“We simply took our time to study all the major candidates before we decided that Obi is top-notch and thus should be supported without any equivocation.”

Warning against apathy, Obioha added, “Any rhetoric on election boycott in the South-East will likely dampen the maximum turnout of voters that is expected in the South-East on February 25, 2023.

“For this reason, I call on all Ndigbo to ignore or caution anybody calling for boycott of the 2023 election and prepare themselves to come and vote despite any let or hindrance.”