By Chinedu Aroh
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Wednesday, said it never authorized any press release to the effect that Gov Charles Soludo of Anambra State had been dragged to two deities in Imo State over his recent statements against Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Soludo had stated that Obi’s investments as governor of Anambra were ‘next to nothing’. He later predicted that Obi ‘can’t win’ the presidential election in 2023.
Against this background, a faction of Ohanaeze, with one Isiguzoro as secretary general, announced yesterday that Soludo had been dragged to the two deities for arbitration.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, led by Amb George Obiozor, today, disclaimed such.
Its national publicity secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, in a statement, described the reports of taking Soludo to deities as ‘bizarre and reckless’.
According to him, “The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide would have ignore the said press release, but silence in this circumstance will tend to give validity to such a fallacy by the unsuspecting public.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo has never contemplated consultation to deities in seeking solutions for the Igbo dilemma. The Igbo are profoundly endowed in various ways least of which is a resort to deities.
“It needs be added that on November 15, 2022, the National Executive Committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo held a meeting presided over by Obiozor. The issue of the place of the Igbo in 2023 was elaborately discussed.”
He recalled that at the meeting, Ohanaeze regretted the failure of both the PDP and the APC to zone their presidential tickets to the South East.
Ohanaeze therefore disclaimed the release, adding that the source of the release was fake.
Ohanaeze stated that, “The secretary general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide is Ambassador Okey Emuchay, and any claim to the contrary are mischief-makers, impostors, charlatans, social climbers and those media navigators who leech on the invaluable footprints of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to issue press releases for narrow, perverse and illicit pecuniary interests.
“It is such unwholesome activities by some maladjusted, impish scaremongers that have been the bane of Igbo cohesion and progress. It is worth repeating that various eminent Igbo dignitaries have appealed to such mischief-makers to appreciate that Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide represents the Igbo history, emotions, collectivity, spirituality, unity and strength.”