We ’ll fight for additional state for South-East, says Ohanaeze Ndigbo

Set to unveil Ogbunigwe as region security outfit
The Igbo apex cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, said that they would pursue with vigour the creation of additional state for the South-East, noting that it is only the region that has less states than other zones.

The factional President-General of the group, Chief Chidi Ibeh, in a statement in Abakaliki, said that South-East had been marginalised in the affairs of this country despite its economic contribution, maintaining that the present Ohanaeze will fight to reposition Ndigbo. He picked holes in the appointment of service chiefs by the Presidency where no one from the South-East was selected.

Ibeh, who insisted that the South-East must produce the country’s President in 2023 general election, promised that they would mobilise all the Igbo, both old and young, to join Ohanaeze in the struggle.

He further said that the zone’s security outfit, Ogbunigwe, would be unveiled to tackle the security challenges facing the zone, stressing that the zone had suffered series of insecurity issues and it is time to nip them in the bud.

The statement reads: “Our mission is to bring unity of purpose, peace of mind, prosperity, security of lives and property, qualitative healthcare and functional educational tendency of the Igbo across the country. This is the time for Ndigbo to fight and take their deserved place in nation-building.

“Our watchword and dream is to rebuild new Igboland, Igbo that will be respected, Igbo that will be free in their own land, Igbo that will be part of nation-building, Igbo that will be president in 2023, Igbo with additional state. These were our promises to the Igbo.

“Igbo have been marginalised. Other zones are better than us because they have six states but only the South-East has five and we claimed we are one. We will take the fight to the Presidency, National Assembly and the Judiciary until equity is assured.

“We will mobilise all the Igbo, both old and young, across the globe to join Ohanaeze Ndigbo in this fight. The zone has been marginalised despite its social and economic contributions toward nation-building. All these must stop.”