WHY TINUBU’S ‘CITY BOY’ MOVEMENT FAILED IN SOUTHEAST — EJIMAKOR

April 16, 2026 • Dons Eze • 1 min read

Aloy Ejimakor, counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has explained why the “City Boy” movement, a pro-President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2027 re-election group, failed to gain traction in Nigeria’s Southeast.

In a statement shared on X on Thursday, Ejimakor said his findings showed that the movement struggled due to widespread disinterest in electoral politics among many young people in the region.

According to him, a significant number of Igbo youths are unwilling to engage in any general elections as long as Nnamdi Kanu remains in Sokoto’s correctional center.

“From my investigations, the City Boys movement quickly failed in the Southeast because vast majorities of Igbo youths are not interested in any general elections that will be held while Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains in prison,” Ejimakor wrote.

He added that Kanu’s continued incarceration has become the dominant issue shaping political attitudes in the region.

“For them & for now, that is the #BigElephant in the room,” he wrote.

Recall that the “City Boy” movement appointed popular hotelier and businessman Obinna Iyiegbu, popularly known as Obi Cubana, as its Southeast Coordinator.

Dons Eze

DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.