…unveils plan for Igbo political summit in Enugu, April 2026
From Maurice Okafor, Enugu
Former Nigerian politician and Igbo socio-political activist, Chief Chekwas Okorie, has announced his withdrawal from active partisan politics, declaring that he is now focused on leading a pro-democracy pressure group known as the Igbo Agenda Dialogue (IAD) to address what he described as the continued neglect and marginalisation of the Igbo nation in Nigeria.
Okorie, popularly called “OJE OZI NDIGBO,” literally meaning Messenger of the Igbo Nation, made the disclosure during a press conference held in Enugu on Wednesday, January 14, 2025.
He noted that the year 2026 will mark about 56 years after the Nigerian Civil War ended in 1970, lamenting that the effects of the conflict are still evident across Igbo land due to the failure to fully implement the Federal Government’s post-war policy of “No Victor, No Vanquished.”
Okorie disclosed that the Igbo Agenda Dialogue, IAD, is a non-partisan political platform created to pursue the collective and just cause of the Igbo people.
In his words, “We resolved to reset the Igbo political engagement in Nigeria by establishing the Igbo Agenda Dialogue, IAD, which was inaugurated on the 27th of August 2025.
“The IAD is a non-partisan socio-political and pro democracy Organization of the Igbo people in Nigeria and the Diaspora. It’s motto is ONE FOR ALL, ALL FOR ONE (Madu nwe Oha, Oha nwe Madu).
“The IAD is designed to be the IGBO political grid structured in the form of Nigeria’s electricity grid. Cognizant of the fact that Igbo people have a massive network of associations, unions, professional groups, etc, in Nigeria and in the diaspora,” Okorie explained.
He stressed that with Igbo communities existing in all the 196 countries of the world, the IAD will serve as a central grid to connect Igbo groups, associations and unions globally for effective communication, feedback and coordinated action.
Okorie further disclosed that the first major engagement of the IAD will be an Igbo Political Summit scheduled to hold in Enugu in April 2026.
According to him, the summit will witness the unveiling of the first ever Igbo Political Charter, described as the first of its kind since the historic Ahiara Declaration.
He also revealed that the IAD will embark on wide-ranging advocacy through both traditional and modern mass media platforms to encourage Ndigbo to participate in the democratic process by registering and obtaining their voters’ cards.
He stated, “IAD shall mount a robust and sustained promotion and advocacy to urge all eligible Igbo men and women to register and obtain their voters card.
“IAD shall mount a robust campaign to persuade every Igbo person with their voters card to actively participate in all democratic processes wherever they reside in Nigeria.
“IAD shall mount a robust and sustained political education of our people to appreciate and accept that we can restore our relevance and respect in the country’s democratic space without begging anybody to do so for us what God has already given us power to do for ourselves,” Okorie elaborated.
He emphasised that the renewed sensitisation drive has become necessary, noting that INEC recorded only about 11.5 million registered voters in the South-East zone ahead of the 2023 elections, with an estimated two million voters eventually turning out to vote.
Okorie expressed optimism that with the advocacy and sensitisation programmes of the IAD, over 20 million eligible voters would be captured in the South-East, stressing that their collective votes would be decisive in shaping and negotiating a better future for the Igbo nation within Nigeria.
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