- pass confidence vote on Iwuanyanwu
From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Irked by the continual impersonation of Chief Chidi Ibeh as the President General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Igbo group under the aegis of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL ) has called for his ostracization from the SouthEeast.
Recent declaration by Ibeh and his group at Delta State for Rivers State to produce the next President of the Igbo apex social cultural organisation was strongly resisted by the Igbo youths who have insisted that only Iwuanyanwu and his executive have the power to determine how the organisation is being run.
The statement as released by President General of the group, Goodluck Ibem, read in parts “The attention of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, the apex youth-led Igbo socio-cultural and political body in the Alaigbo was recently drawn to a release which, ordinarily, the Coalition would have regarded as a corrigendum but for the fact that it had been served the public.
“The document, better still, ‘article of shame,’ was released by a phoney group parading itself as Ohanaeze Ndigbo under the leadership of one Chidi Ibeh and his cohort of followers as signatories.
“The release asserted that the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo come January, 2025 must be zoned to Rivers State; and this is where it gets worse.
“We wish to categorically affirm that Ohanaeze Ndigbo is one indivisible body, and that, to the best of our knowledge and that of the watching world, there is no parallel group or appendage to the group except the globally recognised Ohanaeze family as ably led by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, an eminent Igbo son and engineer.
“Having stated this, we call the attention of the world to the release of the self-styled ‘progressives,’ warning of the imminent danger of factionalism.
“Without prejudice to our brothers and sisters in Rivers State and even beyond, we, as a law-abiding youth group advocating inclusion and diversity condemn in its entirety the so-called ‘Asaba Declaration’ being espoused by this group.
“We strongly maintain that until otherwise decided by the appropriate and lawfully authorised body, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu remains the President General of the Ohanaeze family, home and diaspora.
” This truth is the unimpeachable and unassailable position of COSEYL and that of all lovers of the cause of Ndigbo, anybody averse to this is operating outside the Igbo interest.
“We respect the rights of our Rivers family, including their right to rule our family when it is ideal and wish to state that we do not support any political permutation that fans and promotes division and schismatic tendencies.
“Dichotomy and divisive tendencies should not be fanned now that Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu has just begun initiating laudable critical reforms, providing an enviably excellent leadership for Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
“For long now, the likes of Chidi Ibeh have parallelly operated as Ohanaeze Ndigbo, even when they are not recognised by the law to so exist. This is a disservice to the sterling qualities of men like Akanu Ibiam, Michael Okpara, Joe Achuzia, including other well-meaning Igbo sons and daughters. This ignoble cause is both condemnable and lamentable, and we reject it outright.
“We have equally mobilised and briefed our branches within and beyond the Southeast to this effect. The rivalry being provided by Chidi Ibeh and his lieutenants is only capable of tearing us apart.
“It is on this note that we call for the ostracisation of this group, whatever they represent, to enable us have the cleansing we need to project and protect the interest of Ndigbo worldwide, especially in this elastically competitive era where you either grow or go. To grow as Ndigbo we choose.” Ibem stated.