Igbo leaders fume as fake Ohanaeze Ndigbo registers with CAC

It’s ploy to destabilise rotation of Anambra guber in 2021
Youth wing urges Nwodo to accept NEC’s dissolution

Igbo leaders yesterday lampooned an Ohanaeze Ndigbo splinter group that purportedly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), alleging that promoters of the group were paid to destabilise the South East and desecrate the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation.

They stated that it was unfortunate that the group could stoop so low to work against Igbo people, stressing that the development was a continuation of the marginalisation against Igbo political and economic interests in the country.

The traditional ruler of Igbariam in Anambra East Council Area of Anambra State, Igwe Nkeli Nzekwe inaugurated the new group at his palace yesterday, describing himself as Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of Ohanaeze worldwide and insisted that those who could not register a group should not preside over it.

Reacting to the development, former governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, said it was a way to demonstrate that the Igbo were not united, stressing that those championing the cause should cover their faces in shame.

Also, former National Chairman of the defunct United Progressives Party (UPP), Chekwas Okorie, explained that members of the splinter group knew nothing about Ohanaeze Ndigbo just as he faulted Nzekwe’s claim of being part of the formation of the group in 1976.

Also, former President General of Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazuruike, noted that Ohanaeze had one President General in the person of Nnia Nwodo, adding however, that the attempt to split the group was to truncate the groups election that would somebody from Imo State as its President General in January next year.

Besides, the Anambra chapter of has condemned the purported sack of the state and national executive of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, accusing the splinter group of plotting to upset the rotational agreement of the state’s governorship position.

The Guardian learnt that the officers of the newly registered body included President General, Onuorah Basil Onyeachonam, Mgbejiofor Eric Ositadinma, Nwusulor Emmanuel Chigbogu, Omoni Cosmas Alvan, Ejiekwu Tim Ejiekwu and Nnalue Chimzoba Kingsley.

However, President of Ohanaeze in the state, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, told The Guardian in an interview in Awka that the fake group was daydreaming and dead on arrival.Okeke-Ogene, who said the splinter group was handpicked from a particular council area of the state, pointed out that Ohanaeze had a tradition of rotation among states of the South East, clarifying that after the incumbent, Chief Nnia John Nwodo, it would be Imo State’s turn to produce the next President General.

He noted that the aim of the orchestrated crisis was to rubbish Governor Willie Obiano, who he described as an advocate of power rotation and someone working for the unity of the state and Ndigbo in general.

Meanwhile, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (OYC) Worldwide charged Nwodo to accept the dissolution of the National Executive Council (NEC). It said its call stemmed from failure of the Nwodo-led executive to conclude registration of the group with the CAC, which was started by his predecessor, Chief Gary Igariwey since 2016.

In a statement issued in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, National President of OYC, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said despite the resources available to Nwodo, he could not complete the registration, but rather continued to pursue his political interests using the platform.