From Magnus Eze, Enugu
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has dissociated itself from the purported meeting of some of its members with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State in Port Harcourt, saying that those involved went on their private business.
It regretted that some people have turned the name of the organisation to a merchandise, using it to make money from interest groups and politicians.
Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Amb. Okey Emuchay, who addressed newsmen in Enugu on Tuesday, said that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo did not undertake any trip to the Governor of Rivers State.
The Ohanaeze scribe disclosed that the body made fruitless attempts for over two years to meet with Wike including while its President General, Prof. George Obiozor was alive.
Ohanaeze noted that the last effort was via a letter dated January 18, 2023, in which the governor was notified of the death and funeral programme of the Deputy President General of the body, Chief Joel Khroham, who was buried in Ahoda West local government of Rivers State on February 4.
Emuchay further said that Wike like most governors of the states comprising Ohanaeze, neither attended nor sent delegation to the burial of the late President General Obiozor on February 10, in Imo State, even when they were duly notified of the funeral programme.
He said: “It is important for me to make this clarification in view of what has been trending in the media since last Thursday. We had made efforts in the past to seek an audience with the Governor of Rivers State. For over two years, the late President General, myself and other stakeholders had to engage with prominent Nigerians whose names I am not here to disclose. The last effort was a letter I delivered via DHL to the Governor on the 18 of January this year, to among others, inform the governor that the Deputy President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, High Chief Kroham Joel had passed on and the family had fixed a date for the funeral in his village in Ahoda West LGA of Rivers State. I did not receive any response to that letter. Ohanaeze NEC was in Ahoda West local government to bury the late Deputy President General. It is important to say that our Late President General, Amb. Prof George Obiozor CON on his own, transferred the sum of N1million to the widow of the late Deputy President General, the Governor of Imo State provided N5 million to the family of the late Deputy President General. These were the funds that were used for his burial. He was buried on the 4th of February, 2023 and Ohanaeze NEC was fully represented to give him a befitting funeral.”
Emuchay declared that there was no faction in Ohanaeze, noting that an Enugu High Court recently restrained Okechukwu Isiguzoro and his cohorts from representing the body.
He said that Isiguzoro was never elected as Secretary General of Ohanaeze, but he went about issuing statements that were injurious to the Igbo nation and its people.
He urged Isiguzoro and his sponsors to understand that “Ohanaeze is above all of us. Ohanaeze is an umbrella organization for all Igbo, both at home and in diaspora. So, those who are prodding him, those who are sponsoring him should please think about our people.
“Also, that people who are using the name of Ohanaeze, it has been turned into a kind of cottage industry, moving around, going from one place to the other, promising people that they would do this on behalf of the Igbo nation, to me, this is not acceptable and we call on these people to please cease using the name of Ohanaeze to extort money from members of the public.”