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Tag: Ohanaeze

  • Ohanaeze frowns at inflammatory speech by Igbo youths

    Ohanaeze frowns at inflammatory speech by Igbo youths

    Chief Nnia Nwodo, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has expressed dismay over the spate of hate speech on social media platforms by Igbo youths under the guise of agitating for Biafra.

    Nwodo made this known on Thursday during the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected officials of Abia chapter of  Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Umuahia.

    He said that making inciting speech was capable of causing crisis which could lead to mass violence in the nation ,adding that it was pertinent to respect constituted authorities.

    Nwodo said that the first hand experience that he had during the Nigerian civil war had given him an understanding of the throes of war,  adding that no nation had fought two wars and survived.

    “There are 11.6 million Igbo people living in the North and it will be wise for Igbo people living in the South-East and elsewhere to put them into consideration while speaking or engaging in certain activities.

    “I urged Igbo youths to desist from activities and comments  that could spark violence in the nation. At the moment what  Igbo people need to fight for is restructuring of  the nation.

    “Ohanaeze is in an era of transparency. I assure you that we have not relented in speaking for the Igbo people,especially in the area of restructuring for the benefit of Igbo people.”

    In his speech ,Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia ,said that the event was an indication that Igbo people had unanimously arisen to  pursue a venture that would reposition Igboland for greater prosperity and development.

    Ikpeazu said that it was the responsibility of every Igbo person to respect Igbo leaders  and support their efforts in campaigning for political and economic restructuring of Nigeria.

    In his remark ,Mr Rowland Ajuzieogu ,the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo ,Abia chapter, said that the organisation would work hard to ensure that Igbo culture, traditions and language were resuscitated.

    Ajuzieogu added that under his watch Ohanaeze would not hesitate in promoting any cause that would favour the people of Abia and Igbo land at large.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a lecture titled “Benefits of Practical Skills and Cultural Heritage in Igbo land”  was delivered by Dr Chris Nwagbaoso.

    Nwagbaoso, in his lecture urged Igbo people to equip themselves with skills that would make them key players in the socioeconomic advancement of Igbo land and the nation.(NAN)

  • Ohanaeze should partner govt for peace, says Presidency

    Ohanaeze should partner govt for peace, says Presidency

    The Presidency has urged leaders of Igbo socio-cultural body Ohanaeze to see themselves as partners with the Federal Government towards promoting peace and stability in the country.

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made the call yesterday while reacting to criticisms of the president’s Independence Day speech by the Ohanaeze leadership.

    In a statement, he described as unfair for the group to blame the recent unrest in the Southeast region on the federal government.

    Throwing light on the import of the Presidential broadcast, the spokesman said President Muhammadu Buhari’s message to community leaders, and that includes the Ohanaeze, is that they had a huge role to play in what happens in their communities and in how their youth behave.

    He said: “President Buhari was not abdicating his responsibilities. He didn’t request any political leader to do anything seminal or out of the box. All he said is, talk to your out-of-the-line-youth so that we have some peace.

    “Igbo leaders need not to be on the defensive for the misbehaviour of the IPOB which they rightly condemned.

    “The President was simply saying that the regional leaders also have a role to play in keeping their hot-headed youth in check.” he said

    This admonition, the SSA Media pointed out, applied equally to leaders of every other region of the country, not only the Ohanaeze from the southeast.

    According to him, elders from every region must step out and speak up whenever their youth go out of line, such as when the IPOB launched unspeakable diatribes against other groups of people in other parts of the country and then began to threaten violence.

    “President Buhari was simply calling out the regional leaders to their responsibilities, making them aware of the crucial role they can play. This should not be seen as an attack on the Ohaneze or on any other regional leaders,” he said.

    Responding to other criticisms of the President’s speech, particularly the declaration that all matters of restructuring or constitutional amendment are the business of the National Assembly , Malam Garba reiterated the President’s line that the Parliament  as a key institution in democratic governance is the proper venue for the ventilation of, and resolution of all contentious issues.

    “It beats our imagination that men claiming to be democrats or having democratic credentials are asking the government to ignore an elected parliament in preference to a committee made up of presidential appointees to debate and resolve constitutional issues.

    “You are either for democracy or for its opposite. For us in this government, democracy is the country’s chosen system of government and we are determined to deepen and uphold it.

    “Democracy may be slow and chaotic, but it remains the best system of government the world has got so far.

    Democracy in Nigeria has come to stay and the administration will deepen it, not kill it.”

    Shehu referred Nigerians questioning the success of administration so far to look at the mirror and see themselves.

    “We inherited a country in tatters- its economy, its security and in its social relations. President Buhari deserves credit for rebuilding what has been destroyed. If anyone thinks this a failure, let them talk to those millions of farmers we have empowered to create riches for themselves and the nation, for whom fertilizer is available everywhere at the regulated price of N5,500 instead of N13,800 a year ago; let them ask the manufacturers and importers of goods who bought the dollar at N525:00 and are happy that it is down to N360:00 and still improving; let them go back and read the accomplishments highlighted in the speech, to see the advancements in security, agriculture, the ease of doing business and anti-corruption, to mention a few.

    “As for those critics who are used to being settled by successive governments, with false claims to being so-called conscience of society popping out from the cupboard on and off to drive the country towards religious and ethnic polarisation, they have no other motive but to rock the boat of good governance. What they yearn for is to be picked out to be paid to keep quiet. The Buhari government has abolished “settlement.”

    “Polarising speeches that aggravate brother Nigerian against a brother Nigerian are causing damage to our democracy, rocking at the very foundation of our unity and they better not cross those red lines as warned by the President.”

     

  • Ohanaeze must help to promote peace – Presidency

    Ohanaeze must help to promote peace – Presidency

    The Presidency urged the Ohanaeze Igbo leaders to see themselves as partners with the FG in the bid to promote peace and stability in the country.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made the call while reacting to criticisms of the President’s Independence Day speech by the Ohaneze leadership.

    In a statement issued in Abuja, Shehu said it was unfair for the group to blame the recent unrest in the South East region on the Federal Government.

    He said: “President Buhari was not abdicating his responsibilities. He didn’t request any political leader to do anything seminal or out of the box. All he said is, talk to your out-of-the-line-youth so that we have some peace.

    “Igbo leaders need not to be on the defensive for the misbehaviour of the IPOB which they rightly condemned.

    “The President was simply saying that the regional leaders also have a role to play in keeping their hot-headed youth in check.”

     

  • Ohanaeze: restructuring way forward for Nigeria

    Ohanaeze: restructuring way forward for Nigeria

    The Igbo have voted for the restructuring of Nigeria, saying it is the way out of its problems. Besides, Ohanaeze, Ndigbo’s apex cultural and political organisation, yesterday rejected the declaration of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organisation. It described the action as “unfair, discriminatory and overhanded.”

    Ohanaeze’s President-General John Nnia Nwodo said the Southeast had been over policed to intimidate and hold down the Igbo.

    According to him, the endurance of the Igbo is being stretched beyond elastic limit.

    He said despite the October 1 quit notice given to the Igbo in the North, the Arewa Youths Council, which issued the deadline, was treated with kid gloves.

    Nwodo insisted that restructuring the country was the  way out of its problems.

    He said the agitation for restructuring was not anti-North. It was all at a lecture at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London.

    In the text, which was released to repoprters in Abuja by Nwodo’s Media Adviser Ike Abonyi, the Ohanaeze President said “never in the history of Nigeria has there been unanimity for the reshaping of the country as it is now”.

    Nwodo said: “The declaration of IPOB as a terrorist organization is in my view hurried, unfair, and not in conformity with the intendment of the law.

    “Whereas I am not completely in agreement with some of the methods of IPOB, like its inappropriate and divisive broadcast, the uncontested evidence given by the Attorney-General of the Federation in an interlocutory action claiming that IPOB attempted and/or actually snatched guns from law enforcement agents are, if proven, merely criminal offences.

    “They do not constitute enough evidence to meet international law definitions of a terrorist organisation. Happily, the United States Embassy in Nigeria only three days ago shared this conclusion and asserted that the United States Government does not recognise IPOB as a terrorist organisation.

    “This same unarmed IPOB that is being stigmatised by the Nigerian government had its members murdered in Asaba, Nkpor, Aba and Port Harcourt simply for having public demonstrations without the Federal Government ordering a judicial inquiry.

    “Instead, after I called for one and Amnesty International provided evidence that 150 of them were killed, the Chief of Army Staff set up an inquiry composed of serving and retired army officers, thus abandoning the rules of natural justice which prescribes that you cannot be a judge in your own court.”

    Nwodo spoke on the mindset of the Igbo on the proscription of IPOB. He said: “The Igbo in Nigeria feel the treatment of IPOB as unfair, discriminatory and overhanded. They see the move as an attempt to encourage a profiling of Igbos in the international security arena.

    “We know of other self-determination groups in Nigeria that are armed and have destroyed government and private sector installations and wells that government prefers to negotiate with rather than label them as terrorist organisations.

    “Fulani herdsmen, otherwise called the Fulani militants, have ravaged farms in Middle Belt, South West, and South Eastern Nigeria, killing several farmers in the process. In January 2016, they killed 500 farmers and their families in Agatu in Benue state. In Enugu State,

    they murdered more than 100 farmers in Ukpabi Nimbo in April 2016.

    “Photographs depicting them with automatic rifles trend in the entire world media, yet not one of them is facing criminal charges, nor is Operation Python Dance being conducted in the areas where they ravage and kill and the Federal Government describes them as criminals and not a terrorist organization, notwithstanding their classification by the Global Terrorist Index as the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world (see British Independent Newspaper, 18th November 2015). The London Guardian Newspaper of 12th July 2016 indicated that Fulani herdsmen killed 1000 people in 2014.”

    The Ohanaeze President declared that the endurance of the Igbo was being overstretched.

    He said: “In Nigeria, Ndigbo, whose social-cultural organisation I lead are, notwithstanding their historical experiences in Nigeria, the most loyal ethnic group to the concept of one Nigeria.

    “We are the largest ethnic group other than the indigenous group in any part of Nigeria. We invest and contribute to the economic and social life of the communities wherever we live. We are proudly Christians but very accommodating of our brothers of other religious persuasions.

    “We are grossly marginalised and still treated by the Federal Government as second-class citizens. No Igbo man, for instance, heads any security arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Our area is the most heavily policed as if there was a deliberate policy to intimidate us and hold us down.

    “Our endurance has been stretched beyond Hooke’s gauge for elastic limit. The deployment of the Nigerian Army under the guise of Operation Python Dance to the South East was unconstitutional under Section 271 of the 1999 Constitution.

    “Deployment of the army is only allowed in circumstances of insurrection, terrorism and external aggression, not in killing of priests, or fighting kidnapping. And in those circumstances where they can be deployed, leave of the Senate must be sought. This brazen impunity in dealing with matters which concern the South East is provocative.”

    Nwodo went on: “The Arewa Youths Council, by issuing a quit notice for Igbos to leave Northern Nigeria and declaring a Federal Republic of Nigeria without Igboland, had committed serious infractions of the law. First by declaring a new Republic of Nigeria which excises the South East unilaterally, they were committing treason.”

    He said the agitation for restructuring was not anti-North as being speculated by some Nigerians.

    His words: “The only hope for change in Nigeria today is the rising call for restructuring pioneered by the Southern leadership forum, supported lately by ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former President Ibrahim Babangida and leaders of the Middle Belt including Dan Suleiman and Prof. Jerry Gana.

    “Our expectation is that now that our President is fully recovered and back to work, he will address the situation by constituting a nationwide conversation of all ethnic nationalities to look into the 2014 National Conference report and the trending views on this subject

    matter so as to come up with a consensus proposal that the national and state assemblies will be persuaded to adopt.

    “A model based on sharing of Government revenue must give way to a new structure that will challenge and drive productivity in different regions across the country.

    “Restructuring will devote attention to the new wealth areas, promote competition and productivity as the new federating units struggle to survive. It will drastically reduce corruption as the large federal parastatals which gulp Government revenue for little or no impact dissolve and give way to small and viable organs in the new federating units.”

    The Ohanaeze chief gave a picture of what Nigeria would assume after its proposed model of restructuring.

    “Two basic models have been canvassed for restructuring in Nigeria. A conservative model aimed at maintaining the status quo has been proposed to mean simply a shedding of some of the exclusive powers of the Federal Government.

    “The second model calls for a fundamental devolution of powers to the States as federating units and a lean Federal Government with exclusive powers for defence, customs, immigration, foreign relations and a federal legislature and judiciary to make and interpret laws in these exclusive areas.

    “The regions will have the powers to merge existing states or create new ones. There will be regional and state legislatures and judiciary dealing with making and interpreting laws made in the respective political entities. This approach proposes a revenue sharing formula of 15% to the Federal Government, 35% to the State Government and 50% to the Local Governments.”

    Nwodo blamed the All Progressives Congress(APC) and other parties for not paying attention to restructuring. “To make matters worse, none of the other political parties has come up with any clear-cut route for achieving a consensus on this matter.

    “The National Assembly itself is a reflection of the deep ethnic divisions in the country and the Northern majority conferred on it by the military makes it highly unacceptable to Southern Nigeria.”

  • Nigeria ripe for restructuring, says Ohanaeze

    Nigeria ripe for restructuring, says Ohanaeze

    …Says terrorist tag on IPOB unfair, discriminatory

    The Igbo apex organization, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Wednesday said Nigeria is ripe for restructuring because  various indicators in the country points to it (restructuring).

    President-General of the group, Chief John Nwodo, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Chief Nwodo, in a paper titled “Restructuring Nigeria: Decentralization for National Cohesion,” and delivered at Chatham House, London, said the present structure had failed because it was not created by Nigerians.

    He said the south and parts of the middle belt region in the north were unanimously in support of restructuring the country.

    He said the disenchantment in the country over the existing structure would be gloomy if the desires of majority of the people are not met or continue to be deliberately ignored.

    Chief Nwodo called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rise up to the challenge and lead the process of restructuring Nigeria.

    He said: “A model based on sharing of government revenue must give way to a new structure that will challenge and drive productivity in different regions across the country. This new model must take into account that the factors driving productivity in today’s world are no longer driven by fossil oil but rather the proliferation of a knowledge-based economy.

    “The restructuring of Nigeria into smaller and independent federations limits and the devolution of powers to these federating units to control exclusively their human capital development, mineral resources, agriculture, and power (albeit with an obligation to contribute to the federal government) is the only way to salvage our fledging economy.

    “Restructuring will devote attention to the new wealth areas, promote competition and productivity as the new federating units struggle to survive. It will drastically reduce corruption as the large federal parastatals which gulp Government revenue for little or no impact dissolve and give way to small and viable organs in the new federating units.

    “Those campaigning against restructuring in Nigeria have painted an unfortunate and untrue picture that those of us in support of restructuring are doing so in order to deny the Northern States who have not yet any proven oil reserves of the ability to survive. This is unfortunate.

    “The new model we propose for Nigeria recognizes that revenue in the world today is promoted by two main sources namely, human capital development leveraging on technology to drive the critical sectors of the economy and agriculture.”

    Chief Nwodo, criticized the federal government for declaring the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) as terrorists organization when their activities do not merit them such status.

    He accused the government of overlooking the activities of more dangerous armed militant groups such as the Fulani herdsmen, which he said the government branded criminals.

    “The declaration of IPOB as a terrorist organisation is in my view hurried, unfair, and not in conformity with the intendment of the law. The Igbos in Nigeria feel the treatment of IPOB as unfair, discriminatory and overhanded. They see the move as an attempt to encourage a profiling of Igbos in the international security arena.

    “We know of other self-determination groups in Nigeria that are armed and have destroyed government and private sector installations and wells that government prefers to negotiate with rather than label them as terrorist organizations.

    “Whereas I am not completely in agreement with some of the methods of IPOB like its inappropriate and divisive broadcast, the uncontested evidence given by the Attorney General of the Federation in an interlocutory action claiming that IPOB attempted and/or actually snatched guns from law enforcement agents are, if proven, merely criminal offences.

    “They do not constitute enough evidence to meet international law definitions of a terrorist organisation. Happily, the United States Embassy in Nigeria only three days ago shared this conclusion and asserted that the United States Government does not recognise IPOB as a terrorist organisation.

    “This same unarmed IPOB that is being stigmatized by the Nigerian government had its members murdered in Asaba, Nkpor, Aba and Port Harcourt simply for having public demonstrations without the federal government ordering a judicial inquiry.

    “Instead, after I called for one and Amnesty International provided evidence that 150 of them were killed, the Chief of Army Staff set up an inquiry composed of serving and retired army officers thus abandoning the rules of natural justice which prescribes that you cannot be a judge in your own court,” he said.

    Speaking on the deployment of federal troops to the south east, Nwodo said: “Our endurance has been stretched beyond Hooke’s gauge for elastic limit.

    “The deployment of the Nigerian Army under the guise of Operation Python dance to the South East was unconstitutional under S. 271 of the 1999 Constitution. It is intended to provoke our people.

    The deployment of the army is only allowed in circumstances of insurrection, terrorism and external aggression not in killing of priests, or fighting kidnapping. And in those circumstances where they can be deployed, leave of the Senate must be sought.

    “This brazen impunity in dealing with matters which concern the South East is provocative.” he added.

    The discourse at Chatham house was witnessed by a cross section of Nigerians resident in Uk as well as the Obi of Onitsha Igwe Achebe.

  • Ohanaeze blames Nigeria’s enemies for secession clamour

    Ohanaeze blames Nigeria’s enemies for secession clamour

    The Southeast socio-cultural body, Ohaneze Ndigbo, currently on a peace mission to the North, says the current clamour for self-government in the country, is the handiwork of the enemies of Nigeria.

    Such, enemies, according to Ohanaeze, are envious of Nigeria’s potentials.

    It therefore wants Nigerians to learn to live with one another.

    The President General of the body, Dr. John Nwodo, said in Gombe on Friday that Nigerians must learn to live in peace, irrespective of ethnic, religious or regional differences.

    Nwodo led Igbo leaders from the 19 Northern states including Abuja, on a courtesy call on Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State.

    He said that anyone who witnessed the civil war in the country would not want to see a recurrence of the incident.

    According to him, Ohaeneze conceived the idea to reach out to Northerners even before the decision of the 19 Northern governors to visit the South East.

    “They visited us and that we are now here shows we are on the same bed and dreaming the same dream,” he said.

    He assured non-Igbo resident in the Southeast of adequate protection, conveying the message of governors in the region to guarantee the safety of all non-Igbo.

    While stressing that “enough is enough”, he asked patriotic Nigerians not to take the laws into their hands.

    He appealed to Dankwambo to communicate the message of peace from Ohaeneze to the people of the state and the entire North- East.

    Responding, the governor assured them that Gombe State was home to all, and stressed that adequate measures had been taken to ensure the safety of lives and property.

    Represented by his deputy, Mr. Charles Iliya, the governor recounted an earlier meeting held with political, traditional and religious leaders across the state, where he stressed that the unity of the country was paramount.

    The Ohanaeze delegation also met with Igbo community in the state.

     

  • Ohanaeze launches peace efforts in Sokoto

    Ohanaeze launches peace efforts in Sokoto

    The Igbo apex socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has launched a peace and unity initiative in the North.

    It is all in continuation of efforts to prevent a bloodbath in the country as a result of the activities of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    The Ohanaeze team yesterday visted Sokoto State. Lead by  Dr. John Nwodo, the team met with Governor Aminu Tambuwal.

    Nwodo said Nigeria must undergo another civil war.

    He said the visit was to deliver the message of Southeast governors, traditional leaders and spiritual leaders.

    “Nigeria should in no circumstance experience war the second time as it generates no good, but more harm to our country.

    “We must remain partners in progress of our country as we have seen how our own fathers lived to make it grow and develop to its present stage,” he said.

    Nwodo said unity and peaceful co-existence must be the responsibility of all citizens.

    He said although the nation is now facing challenging times, the cohesion that existed over the years was worthy of being maintained.

    “Yes, our country is facing a trying ‎period, but we should not, under any circumstance, allow the experience of another civil war to happen again. We should not allow personal emotions to undermine our national unity,” Nwodo said, adding that the visit was at the instance of the Southeast governors.

    He praised Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar of Sokoto who “in the ongoing ethnic tensions, portrayed himself as a father by stating recently that ‘whoever wants to attack the Igbo, should attack him, first.”

    ”In the same vein, I came with the assurances of Southeast governors that any Igbo who wants to kill a northerner, should first kill them,” Nwodo added.

    Tambuwal, said Nigeria’s many ethnic groups and languages should be used to promote unity, not division.

    ”The recent tension, especially in the Southeast was caused by young men who do not understand any other way of channelling their grievances other than the way they have chosen.

    ”I assure you that we are at peace with each other here in Sokoto and we shall continue to be,” Tambuwal said.

    Igbo leaders in Adamawa State also yesterday disowned IPOB and its activities.

    President-General of Igbo Cultural Association in Adamawa Chief Fidelis Umeh praised Governor Muhammadu Bindow’s efforts at maintaining peace and stability.

    Umeh, who spoke at a news conference in Yola, described the governor as a role model in bringing about change, development and peaceful co-existence among the state’s diverse people.

    According to him, IPOB’s activities are not in the overall interest of the Igbo.

    “The Igbo residing in the state are totally against the movement and activities of IPOB.

    “Permit me to use this ample opportunity to indicate my ardent admiration and profound appreciation to Governor Bindow for the positive change and development he has brought to the state.”

    Umeh also expressed gratitude to the governor for ensuring  that the Igbo live in peace  in the state, saying that the Igbo community appreciated his concern for their safety.

  • Northerners safe in South East – Ohanaeze

    Northerners safe in South East – Ohanaeze

    The President General, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, on Thursday assured northerners resident in the south East of their safety.

    Nwodo gave the assurance when he visited Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje at the Government House, Kano.

    He said every Nigerian is expected to live in any part of the country without discrimination or harassment.

    “Every Nigerian can live in any part of the country of his choice and no harm will ever come to a Northerner in the East.

    “When the temperature is high we tend to forget what bind us together and we forget the sweet past.

    “If there was any disturbance in Kano where we have 1.6 million Igbos, the entire Igboland would have been in mourning by now,” he said.

    He commended the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, and Kano state government for promoting peace and brotherhood among the people.

    Nwodo said the visit was to deliver the message of all Ndigbo and leaders in the zone.

    “Nigeria should not experience war the second time as it will not augur well for the country.

    “We must remain partners in progress of our country as we have seen how our own fathers lived to make it grow and develop,” the Ohanaeze chief added.

    He said unity and peaceful co-existence must be the responsibility of all.

    Kano State Acting Governor, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, told the delegation the state would always be home for all Nigerians irrespective of their religious beliefs.

    NAN

     

     

  • Ohanaeze rejects terrorist tag on IPOB

    Ohanaeze rejects terrorist tag on IPOB

    The Igbo apex socio-cultural group -Ohanaeze Ndigbo- yesterday rejected the declaration of the Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPoB) as a terrorist organization.

    It insisted that IPOB does not fall within the category of a terrorist organization under extant national and international laws, especially the Terrorist (Prevention) Act 2011, as amended in 2015.

    It,ý however, commended the Southeast Governors for their role in dousing the tension over the large presence of soldiers in the geo-political zone for Operation Python Dance 11.

    Ohanaeze, rising from Imeobi meeting in Enugu, last night, said it stood for a united Nigeria under a restructured federal system of government that guarantees justice, equity and fairness.

    Reading from the group’s communiqué, its President General ý, Chief Nnia Nwodo, flanked by other Igbo leaders, condemned the military operation in the zone and urged the army to terminate the exercise henceforth.

    The group said it would hold a special summit soon in support of the restructuring agenda, and supported all the resolutions of the Southern Leaders Forum.

    For the umpteenth time, it expressed concern over alleged continued marginalization of the Southeast and said the situation was responsible for renewed agitation by Pro-Biafra groups.

    Others at the meeting were Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Imo state Deputy Governor Eze Madumere and Ebonyi state deputy Governor Kelechi Igwe.

    Also in attendance were former President General of Ohanaeze, Prof Joe Irukwu, former Secretary General of Ohanaeze, Dr. Joe Nworgu, former Minister for Information Walter Ofonagoro, former deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Prof Chigozie Ogbu, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Dr. Greg Ibe and former Governor of Anambra state, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife.

  • Terrorist tag: UNIPORT rejects annual convention of Ohanaeze, IPOB on campus

    Terrorist tag: UNIPORT rejects annual convention of Ohanaeze, IPOB on campus

    Following the Defence Headquarters’ declaration of the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organisation, the authorities of Federal Government-owned University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) have kicked against hosting the annual convention of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and IPOB on the campus.

    The school stated through its Deputy Registrar (Information, Publications and Public Relations), Dr. Williams Wodi, that the two groups did not apply to use the institution’s facilities before going on air to declare UNIPORT as the venue of their annual convention, declaring that the facilities would “certainly” not be available to them.

    The attacks on Northerners by protesting IPOB members in the last five days in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, bordering Abia State, led to the killing of two policemen, destruction of valuable property, injuring of many innocent people, unprovoked violence and heightened tension in the state, with Kanu’s supporters in Abia and Rivers states still poised for war over allegation of attacks by soldiers and other security personnel.

    The statement by UNIPORT said: “It has come to the notice of the authorities of the University of Port Harcourt that certain faceless individuals or groups have gone on air to announce the convening of an ‘Annual Convention,’ purportedly scheduled to hold in the university on Friday, September 29, 2017. The said announcement is being made in the name of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Indigenous People of Biafra.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the authorities of the university wish to state quite categorically that no individuals or groups had applied for permission to use any of the facilities for purposes of holding the purported ‘Annual Convention,’ as the announcements in the electronic media appear to indicate to unsuspecting members of the general public.

    “We further wish to state that individuals or groups are not authorised to make use of facilities in the University of Port Harcourt without first applying and obtaining permission to do so.

    “The general public is, therefore, advised to discountenance the ongoing announcements for whatever intent or purpose they were meant to serve.

    “The faceless elements behind such embarrassing announcements are totally unknown to the authorities of the university and have absolutely no permission to hold such an event on our campus.

    “The facilities of the university are certainly NOT available for the purpose stated in the said announcements.

    “Even if the organisers/announcers have an intention to gather in the University of Port Harcourt, it remains a mere intention that cannot be actualised without the express permission of the authorities of the university.

    “It is our hope that those making the post-haste announcements have no plans to drag the University of Port Harcourt into any controversy that is capable of distracting it from its core mandate of research, teaching and public service.”

    It will be recalled that the heightened tension in Rivers State made Governor Nyesom Wike to yesterday morning make a state broadcast in which he declared that the Rivers State Government would not tolerate any attack on other Nigerians living in the state by members of IPOB or any other group, stressing that the state belongs to all those who live in it, with Rivers heartily welcoming any Nigerian who resides in the state and carries our his/her lawful businesses.