Joe Igbokwe Reveals the ‘New Game’ for Lagos Igbo in 2027

Joe Igbokwe says he will take President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid to Igbo communities across Lagos. The APC chieftain and apex leader of Ndigbo in the Lagos APC made the pledge at a political gathering. He said his team will search for Igbo people wherever they live in the state. Then, he said, they will explain what he calls the new game being played.

According to Igbokwe, the old dichotomy no longer exists. He said the South will do its job and complete its own eight years, as the North did under Muhammadu Buhari. Moreover, he described the matter as not negotiable. “Asiwaju must rule for eight years,” he said.

Igbokwe’s message at a glance

Igbokwe argued that Tinubu is now too strong to remove. He said the President has everybody in his backyard. In 2023, he said, Tinubu fought his way in from outside the system. Now, he added, Tinubu sits inside it. Therefore, he asked how anyone could expect to unseat him.

He also credited Tinubu with a key role in Buhari’s rise to the presidency. According to him, Tinubu helped make Buhari president for eight years. For that reason, Igbokwe said, Tinubu deserves the same two terms. He added that nobody can dictate to Southern Nigeria, given its numbers, education and achievements.

Igbokwe also urged the South-East to back Tinubu. He said that if the region puts its votes behind him, others will reciprocate in future elections. Even so, he told voters to know why they are struggling and why the region is saying what it says.

Not every voice in the region agrees. In December 2025, for example, an Igbo community association in Abuja urged Tinubu to release IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu. Meanwhile, Tinubu’s allies have repeatedly courted the South-East ahead of 2027.

Sojworldnews could not find a reply from opposition parties to Igbokwe’s remarks. This article presents his statements as he made them.