President General Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has reiterated the reality of the marginalisation of the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria, urging Tinubu to address the anomaly.

The elder statesman, in a statement he signed and issued on Thursday in Abuja, paid tributes to the leadership of Chief Edwin K. Clark for consistently fighting against injustice wherever he perceived it.

“For the avoidance of doubt, South South, Southwest, and Southeast have formed alliances. We have formed a union of Southern Nigeria, and the leaders therein are as follows: Chief E.K. Clark and Emmanuel Essien (South South), Pa Ayo Adebanjo of Afenifere (Southwest), Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Ohanaeze (Southeast). We have unanimously accepted the leadership of the two oldest leaders of the group, Chief E.K. Clark and Pa Ayo Adebanjo.

“We later formed a union of Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum. The leader of the Middle Belt is Dr. Pogu Bitrus. By this union, Chief Edwin Clark is authorised to speak on any part of Southern and Middle Belt of Nigeria.”

He said In 2023, he reported the high level of marginalisation of Igbo to the forum of Southern and Middle Belt Leaders.

He said, “This marginalisation is very clear from the following points:

“Southeast is the only geopolitical zone in Nigeria that has got only five states, whereas other zones have between six and seven states.

“Forty-eight ministers were appointed by Mr. President. By law of Federal Character, the Southeast should have eight ministers, but we have only five ministers, while some other zones have up to ten.

“Despite all the efforts to develop railway infrastructure in Nigeria, nothing was done in the Southeast, even though our people are traders who travel a lot.

“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been incarcerated for many years, and every effort to plead for his release met with failure, while many other Nigerians arrested and accused of similar offenses have all been released.”

He explained that the Federal Character Commission stipulates that the presidency is zoned to rotate between the North and South instead of rotating through six geopolitical zones.

“This has made it impossible for the Southeast to produce a president when two large zones come together to deny the Southeast the opportunity. The presidency was zoned to the South.

“The Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders’ Forum met, deliberated, and resolved to zone it to the Southeast. In their opinion, justice demanded that it should be zoned to the Southeast; they therefore zoned it to the Southeast. Later on, a Southwest candidate emerged in the APC, being the political party in power.

“Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders’ Forum resolved to support an Igbo candidate. This is how the support for Peter Obi came up. From the result of the election, Mr Peter Obi won clearly in Lagos, Delta, Abuja, and many other places, including the Middle Belt.

“I must confess that the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders’ Forum has nothing against Mr President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They were convinced in all honesty that it was the turn of the Southeast to produce the president.

“When the result was announced, His Excellency Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared the winner. The Southeast candidate went to court to seek redress. However, as the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirmed Mr President’s victory, as law-abiding citizens who believe in the rule of law, we congratulated His Excellency Mr. President and promised to give him every support he requires to rebuild Nigeria for good.

“It might interest anyone who cares to know that we have manifested this in practical terms. For example, when many parts of Nigeria were going on demonstration, the Southeast was approached to join, but as a leader of the Southeast, I made a proclamation telling my people not to join, and they hearkened to my voice and never joined the protest.

“We in the South-east have made substantial investments in many parts of the country, and it is in our interest to assist Mr President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to succeed. Any failure by Mr. President would be a calamity to Igbos who have made huge investments in many places in the country.

“We sincerely expect the government to reciprocate this gesture by attending to some of our problems.”

He recalled how after the 2023 general election, Igbo were subjected to the worst situation.

He said, “After Peter Obi won in Lagos, Abuja, and some other states, a group of people held a meeting and boasted that they would cripple Igbo and make sure they don’t succeed in business and politics.

“The activities of this group were glaringly obvious in Lagos, where after Mr. Peter Obi’s victory in Lagos State, every effort was made to stop Igbos from voting. At times, violence was used to stop them. Igbos were abused and threatened to leave Lagos.

“Some markets in Lagos State dominated by Igbo were either closed down or demolished. I held a meeting with the leadership of Lagos State, and I am happy the matter has slowed down.

“An Igbo man, HRH Eze Nwajiagu, who was arrested in Lagos State for no justifiable reason, is still in detention in Lagos. His only offense was the statement he made, which if made by persons of other tribes, would not be taken seriously. We expect Mr President to look into this matter to forestall future occurrences.

“We also woke up one morning in Abuja to hear that a sprawling estate owned by an Igbo man, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu (Ikuku Oma), had been totally demolished. This matter had been reported to me.

“I requested all relevant information regarding the demolition. From my findings, due process of law was not followed before this demolition. We also appeal to Mr. President to investigate this case of the demolition of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu’s estate in Abuja.”

He, however, thanked Tinubu for appointing one of their very intelligent and reliable sons, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, as Chief of Naval Staff of Nigeria.

He said, “We are convinced that by the grace of God, he will do well. The reports I have received from the public show he is doing well.

“The Minister of Works, His Excellency Engr. Dave Umahi, from all indications, is doing very well. I congratulate him.” (THE GUARDIAN)

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