Igbo leaders restate commitment to Nigeria’s restructuring

A delegation of Igbo leaders who met President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, John Nnia Nwodo in Enugu at the weekend, restated their determination to press for restructuring of Nigeria.

The delegation commended Nwodo for what it described as his enlightened, focused and selfless leadership of Ndigbo in the trying period before and during the just- concluded general elections.

Led by Chief Ben Obi, the delegation included former governors Achike Udenwa and Okwesilieze Nwodo, Senator Azu Agboti, pioneer Chairman, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Onyema Ugochukwu and former ministers, Dubem Onyia and A.B.C. Nwosu.

Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, Nwosu said the delegation visited Nwodo to thank him “for standing firm on Igbo position for the restructuring of Nigeria based on greater devolution of powers and resources from the centre to the federating units.

“We also commend him for ignoring saboteurs of the Igbo cause because he has been vindicated by the massive Igbo votes along the direction that Ohanaeze had endorsed,” he added.

The delegation also pledged their support and loyalty for Nwodo to ensure that restructuring of Nigeria for the benefit of all peoples and nationalities was accomplished.

The Igbo leaders reiterated that the task of restructuring Nigeria to make it a nation that works for all its citizens, and not just for only a section of the country, remains the top priority agenda of Ndigbo.

“Therefore, the President General must ensure that this burning desire of Ndigbo for the restructuring of Nigeria continues to remain in the front burner of Nigerian politics,” he said.

He noted that the task for Ndigbo now was to design a post-election agenda to maintain Igbo solidarity such that the Igbo agenda “is not distracted by those lobbying for positions in government and those positioning to be President in 2023.

“The Igbo wisdom of struggling for where to sleep before fighting for the mat to sleep on should guide our post-election strategy.

“However, the icing on the cake for Ndigbo was the election of Emeka Ihedioha as Imo State Governor, which clearly showed that Ndigbo resolved to start redressing the wrongs of the last few years from within Igboland,” he added.