I’ll compel FG to release Nnamdi Kanu if elected governor — Gen Ijioma

The governorship candidate of the Action People’s Party (APP) in Abia State, Gen. Ijioma Nwokoro Ijioma (retd.), has vowed to deploy every legal, political and social means at his disposal to secure the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, if elected governor in 2027.

Ijioma, a former Director of Military Operations in the Northeast, said Kanu’s continued detention was unacceptable, insisting that his administration would not allow the Federal Government to “toy with the liberty” of any Abia citizen.

The retired general, who spoke at a press conference in Umuahia ahead of the commencement of the governorship campaign, said he would make Kanu’s release a priority if elected.

“I speak without any fear of equivocation, when I become the governor of Abia State, I will compel the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu. I will invest my time as governor. I will invest the resources of the state, and I will pursue that matter through every legal means, through every political means, through every social means to ensure that Nnamdi Kanu is released,” he said.

According to him, Kanu’s case was not merely about individual liberty but also about justice and the rule of law.

He said, “Nnamdi Kanu will not remain in prison with me as governor of Abia State. Because first and foremost, he is a citizen of Abia State where I will be presiding as governor. And I will not allow the Federal Government to toy with the liberty of anybody from Abia State. Not only Nnamdi Kanu but others like him. They won’t do it.”

‘Kanu being maltreated because he is Igbo’
Ijioma condemned what he described as the Federal Government’s maltreatment of Kanu, alleging that the IPOB leader was being treated differently because of his Igbo origin.

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“I condemn in its totality the maltreatment the Federal Government has meted out to Nnamdi Kanu and by extension to us as Igbo people. They are doing it to him because he is from Igbo extraction. There is no other reason,” he alleged.

He recalled that during the administration of former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, he approached the governor with proposals on how the state could intervene and prevail on the Federal Government to secure Kanu’s freedom.

Ijioma also compared Kanu’s case with that of other separatist and insurgent figures, questioning what he described as the Federal Government’s different approaches to such cases.

“There is nothing Nnamdi Kanu did that Sunday Igboho, agitating for Oduduwa Republic, didn’t do two times. There is nothing Nnamdi Kanu has done that Boko Haram leaders that we captured and the Federal Government released them haven’t done,” he said.

Calls for media scrutiny of government spending
The APP governorship candidate urged journalists to intensify their scrutiny of government expenditure and interrogate claims made by public officials.

“I would also appeal to you, the media, because you are the fourth estate of the realm, to step forward and step up your game; to interrogate some of these things that are being loaded over people and people are keeping quiet,” he said.

‘I’ll outperform Otti in every sector’
Ijioma also declared that he would outperform the incumbent Governor Alex Otti if elected, particularly in infrastructure and other areas of development.

“I will outperform Otti when I’m elected. So, if Abia people want progress and they say Otti has performed, they should wait until I come. I will outperform him in the construction of roads. I will outperform him in every parameter and in every sector,” he said.

Ijioma said he had developed a 23-point manifesto, which he described as his “compact with Abia people.”

He promised to make public accountability a central feature of his administration, including establishing direct channels through which citizens could communicate with him.

“If a mechanic calls me, I will answer. In fact, I will have a line and dedicate it that the people of Abia State can call me directly and I will speak to them. There is nobody that is too small that I will not answer. And if you take me to question about my policy, I will answer you,” he said.

He added, “I will not abuse you. The governor is the servant of the people, not their boss. If they didn’t elect you, you wouldn’t be governor.”

Osun election: ‘Power and intimidation have limits’
Reacting to the outcome of the recently concluded Osun State governorship election, Ijioma said the election had demonstrated that incumbency and political intimidation could not guarantee electoral victory.

“The lesson from that Osun State election is that power and intimidation have their limits. You saw the grandstanding of the APC in Osun State. Let the people choose their leaders,” he said.

He warned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against repeating what he described as the mistake of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which once dominated the political landscape.

“People are bad students of history. Not quite long, the PDP was holding sway — almost all the 36 state governors were PDP. PDP was going about telling people that they would govern Nigeria for 60 years or more than that. But with the benefit of hindsight, how is the PDP faring now?” he asked.

He predicted a similar fate for the APC if it failed to learn from history.

“The APC is falling into the same snare that the PDP didn’t learn from. If you like, let the 36 state governors be APC candidates at the election, the voice of the people is the voice of God,” he said.

‘2027 election won’t be won on social media’

Ijioma dismissed what he described as attempts to project the Otti administration as a high-performing government through the media, insisting that social media would not determine the outcome of the 2027 election.

“Election in 2027 will not be won by social media. Not the social media,” he declared.

He alleged that the Otti administration was already apprehensive about the coming election because, according to him, its performance claims would be subjected to scrutiny.

“The governor of Abia is already in a panic mode. The facts contradict the claims of super performance,” he alleged.

‘Charter of Equity was violated in 2023’
The APP candidate also hinged his aspiration on the Abia Charter of Equity, arguing that the principle was violated by the emergence of Otti from Abia Central in the 2023 election.

He contended that Abia North had been excluded from producing a governor for too long, despite the rotation principle which he said had guided previous transitions.

“Today, 2026, is 19 years that nobody from Abia North Senatorial District has governed. Is that not a fact?” he asked.

Ijioma argued that the principle of equity should have favoured Abia North in 2023, adding that his emergence as a candidate should not be viewed as a violation of the principle simply because other aspirants from the zone did not emerge on the platforms of other parties.

He said, “If nobody from Abia North stepped forward from other parties to buy form to contest for governorship, does that presuppose that nobody should step forward?”

‘I’ll subject myself to scrutiny’
Ijioma promised that, unlike what he alleged was the practice under the current administration, his government would remain open to public scrutiny.

“Governor is the servant of the people, not their boss,” he said, adding that he was ready to answer questions from citizens irrespective of their social status.

He, however, commended Otti for the N25 million intervention for the medical treatment of Nollywood actress Ngozi Nwosu, saying the governor had done well in that instance.

Ijioma, however, promised to do more in social welfare if elected.

He urged Abians to scrutinise government expenditure and assess candidates based on verifiable performance rather than propaganda as the 2027 election approaches.