OHANAEZE CRISIS: Youth wing insists Nwodo remains suspended, will soon be replaced

Crisis rocking the apex-Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has continued to fester by the day as the youth wing on Tuesday insisted that the President-General of the body, John Nnia Nwodo, remains suspended and may soon be replaced.

Both Ohanaeze Youth Wing (OYW) and the Women wing had last Sunday declared Nwodo suspended for alleged failure to appear before a disciplinary committee set up to probe his alleged misconducts.

But, Nwodo had in his response argued that the two wings lacked the powers to suspend him because there was no leadership in the two wings. He said that the tenures of those parading themselves as leaders of the youth and women wings of Ohanaeze Ndigbo had since expired.

However, in a fresh statement signed by OYW president, vice president and secretary general, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Comrade Achuonye Obinna, and Mazi Okwu Nnabuike respectively and made available to newsmen, they insisted that Nwodo remains suspended.

They applauded some prominent Igbo leaders, who according to them have decided to intervene in the crisis rocking the Igbo group, and hinted that an acting President-General may soon be appointed from Enugu State to complete Nwodo’s term for the sake of peace.

“We, the leadership and members of the Ohanaeze Youth Wing (OYW), hereby wish to inform our teeming members, supporters and reading public that the war declared against our fold and freedom of thought and association by the self-estranged and suspended President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo who wanted to force the Ohanaeze youth and women wings into his political lobby camp for the actualization of his Northeast anointed presidential candidate and for our vehement opposition to one person lording it over on Igbo nation just to make a living, has finally yielded fruits.

“Some respectable Igbo elders, leaders of thought, captains of industries and intelligentsias have not only intervened but agreed to convene and as well invited us to this weekend’s ‘Save Ohanaeze Ndigbo’ meeting in Owerri, Imo State, with the intent to strategize and reposition Ohanaeze Ndigbo, for the return of Igbo cultural nationalism, pan social order and rule of sensible leadership cum mutual respects for the integral organs and compact leadership in Ohanaeze Ndigbo. We will attend, to brief them more on Nwodo’s charades in veil of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

“We are also made to know that there would be likely change of guards in the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and election of a national Acting Steering Committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo with a vibrant and good headed Enugu state citizen, to complete the tenure of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo presidency presently zoned to Enugu State.

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“It may also be interesting to inform the Igbo nation and the reading public that we have been receiving extra-intimidating concerns through calls and direct body contacts lauding our bold moves and struggles to reset Ohanaeze Ndigbo guiding principles and philosophy and rescue it from Nnia Nwodo’s one man show for the popular good and growth of peaceable and sociable behaviour and integrative leadership.

“Therefore, we confidently tell the unsuspecting public and readers to discountenance faith in Nwodo self-effacing and diminishing politics since the leaders, movers and shakers of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Igbo nation have moved-in to salvage Ohanaeze Ndigbo from his greedy self-aggrandizement, power drunkenness and misinformation – thereby, speaking from both sides of his mouth to making disgusting misrepresentation of Igbo interests and Ohanaeze Ideology,” the statement read in part.

Among other offences, the youth had accused Nwodo of allegedly abusing Ohanaeze Ndigbo tradition and constitution by paying loyalty to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar immediately after his election on 10th January 2017, and why Nwodo after being queried by his NEC, told them that his 1st official visit to Atiku, a northerner, was to discuss the ill-health of President Buhari, who he believed is in bad condition.

According to them, the visit was political and to adopt Atiku as a presidential candidate Ndigbo should support, a situation they say will be a repeat of the mistake Igbo’s made in 2015 general elections.

 

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