Nnamdi Chukwu
TWO prominent sons of Igbo land now lay claims to the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo as its President General no thanks to two parallel conventions of the organisation held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Enugu, Enugu State.
A former senator who represented Rivers East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, John Azuta-Mbata was declared elected as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide in the convention held in Enugu State, while Uche Okwukwu, a well-known activist and lawyer, was declared the President-General of the organisation at the event held in Rivers State. Okwukwu, an Ikwerre indigene, was said to have been elected unopposed during the event.
Okwukwu was returned unopposed at the organisation’s convention in Port-Harcourt. He emerged as the consensus candidate among more than four aspirants who sought to lead the Igbo socio-cultural organisation.
In his acceptance speech, Okwukwu thanked the delegates and humbly accepted the enormous responsibility imposed on him to lead the Igbo race. He outlined his top priorities, which include engaging the Federal Government on the unconditional release of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and restructuring Nigeria.
“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.
Okwukwu also promised to unite the Igbo people and bring them together as one indivisible family. He pledged to defend the Igbo nation and live up to the high expectations of the people.
“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 added.
Meanwhile, at the Enugu meeting attended by governors from Southeast, Azuta-Mbata was announced as the 13th occupant of the coveted seat succeeding Fidelis Chukwu, whose tenure completed the tenure of Imo State.
Chukwu was named leader of the group during the Ime-Obi meeting held in Enugu in December. His appointment followed the death of Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu who took over after the death of George Obiozor in 2023.
Fidelis Chukwu’s completion of Imo State’s tenure to lead the pan-Igbo group opened the door for Rivers State which has now produced Azuta-Mbata to lead Ohanaeze for the next four years.
Azuta-Mbata, who was born in January 1960, earned a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Ibadan.
At the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic in 1999, Azuta-Mbata was elected Senator for the Rivers East constituency of Rivers State. He ran on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He was re-elected in 2023 and served in the Senate until 2007.
Five governors of the South-East, leaders of thoughts, and political stakeholders from the Igbo extraction were all present at the election in Enugu on Friday.
Eighteen-Eleven Media