Ohanaeze Ndigbo:  Polycephalous Organisation

Ohanaeze Ndigbo  has elected Senator John Azuta-Mbata as its President General Worldwide.

Mbata, a former Senator representing Rivers East at the National Assembly, was elected at the stakeholders meeting of the Igbo Socio-Cultural organization in Enugu on Friday.

The election was held at the old government lodge Enugu, Enugu State, with the new executive members emerging through a consensus.

The election process was conducted via voice voting, and alongside Azuta-Mbata, 15 other individuals were elected to various executive positions within the organisation.

This came shortly after former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, also from Rivers State reportedly withdrew from the race.                                 

•Senator Azuta-Mbata

Azuta-Mbata hails from Obio Akpor local government area of Rivers just like the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Nyesom Wike.

.It is the turn of Rivers to produce the PG of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Mbata will be succeeding Fidelis Ozichukwu Chukwu, whose short reign came into being to complete the tenure of late Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu from Imo State, who passed away last year.

In his acceptance speech, Sen. Azuta-Mbata thanked the delegates for the trust and support extended to him, promising to work towards uniting the Igbo people and addressing pressing issues affecting the ethnic group.

In attendance at the stakeholders meeting leading to the election of Mbata  as President General of the Igbo apex sociocultural organisation were Governors Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, Alex Otti (Abia), Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo(Anambra), host Governor, Peter Mbah(Enugu), Senator Adolfus Wagbara, Senator Chris Ngige, representative of Ebonyi State Governor among others.

An activist lawyer from Rivers State, Uche Nnam Okwukwu, has emerged as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide at the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization’s ongoing convention in Port-Harcourt.

The General Assembly of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, according to a statement by the returning officer, Dr. Achi Achi, said the new President General, Okwukwu, was returned unopposed at the the convention, which began on Thursday and is expected to end on Friday.

The returning officer said Okwukwu was elected by the progressive movement in Igboland, expressing appreciation to the national delegates who stormed Port Harcourt for the exercise, even as he noted that they were the true members of Ohanaeze Ndigbo for finding the new helmsman worthy.

He said the new leader had pledged to defend the interest of all Igbos and uphold the tenets of the constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

Okwukwu, in his acceptance speech, thanked the delegates, saying that he humbly accepted the enormous responsibility imposed on him to lead the Igbo race “at this moment in our history”.

The newly elected President General
said his top priorities include engaging the Federal Government on the unconditional release of the leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, and restructuring Nigeria.

Besides, he promised to “unite fractured nerves and bring the Igbo together as one indivisible family,” saying that he was fully aware of the unprecedented trust reposed in him and his capacity to do so.

He equally pledged defend the Igbo nation, adding: “I shall live up to their high expectations.”

Okwukwu thanked all members of the Electoral Committee, the elders, members of the press and the general Igbo public, for all the joint efforts that contributed to a successful convention.

The newly elected President General, while noting that the Igbo nation had gone through unprecedented travails, assured that he would waste no time in engaging the federal and state governments, businessmen, politicians, youths and the intelligentsia, to address the problems facing the Igbo.

He said he would meet President Bola Tinubu to work for the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu and other political prisoners, and ensure de-criminalization of political exiles to enable they return home to join the process of reconstruction.

“We shall encourage the federal and state governments to engage all agitators to address grievances so as to bring a just closure to issues,” Okwukwu said.

Speaking further, he said he would also engage the Federal Government in dredging, modernization and restoration of the Igweocha/Port-Harcourt and other coastal ports for the Igbo/East and others, together with the dredging of the Azumini to Opobo Imo River basin to the coast, in order to recreate a pole of export-import industrialization and development in Igboland/East, down to the Middle-Belt and Maiduguri.

“I will work for the creation of the Anioma State as an equalization state for the Igbo, and for additional Aba, Adada, Etiti, Orlu or other states in case the balance is further disrupted,” he said.

On restructuring, Okwukwu promised to mobilise the Igbo for the agenda, noting that all other ethnic nationalities had ready templates, but no recent Ohanaeze leadership had had any courage to address the issue.

“I will work hand in hand with critical Igbo stakeholders to advance the unity of the Igbo nation, and ensure that Igbo communities in Benue, Edo etc, are fully incorporated into the Ohanaeze family memberships, modernize the Igbo language as one of the major languages of global commerce, culture, science and technology,” he said.

Okwukwu, it was gathered, emerged as the consensus candidate having been identified as the only independent contestant among more than four aspirants that sought to lead the Igbo socio-cultural organisation.

The election attended by several people was held in Port-Harcourt, with delegates from the South-East and the Diaspora in attendance, while more than 200 social and cultural groups were also present at the event.