Renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has said the emergence of Peter Obi as the Labour Party presidential candidate for 2023 election has brought relative peace to the South-East.

In a statement he posted on his Facebook page, the cleric said the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB’s support for Obi has indicated that the Biafra agitation is political.

Linking the current security crisis in the country to lack of representation, he said the Oduduwa agitation has also slowed down following the hope that the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu would emerge president.

The statement reads partly, “The IPOB rhetoric and loud voice of Biafra agitations have muffled out with the emergence of Peter Obi as the Labor Party presidential candidate. To them, Igbos have a platform. It’s clear now that the entire IPOB outcry was a political gimmick to get power.

“The Oduduwa clamors have abated also since Tinubu has clinched the APC ticket never to resurface again until probably if he didn’t win the race.

“Northern Ultra conservatives too have no mouth to speak of marginalization or suppression of representation, the NNPP kwankwaso has satisfied that segment of the society. No more claims of candidate suppression and manipulation.”

According to him, the major problem of the country now is whether the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, “will conduct free, fair, and transparent elections” in 2023.