By VICTOR NWACHUKWU

The Director-General of the Ahiajoku Centre, Nze Ray Emeana, has said that the centre’s 2025 lecture and cultural festival remain sacrosanct, in spite of speculated cancellation.

The director general said this while clearing the air on the rumored cancellation in an interaction with newsmen in Owerri, on Saturday.

Emeana, who is also the Special Adviser to Gov. Hope Uzodinma on Ahiajoku Centre, said that the decision to postpone the 2025 Ahiajoku lecture until further notice was borne out of concern for heightened tensions in the southeast in November.

He said that the lecture would be delivered on a date to be decided by critical stakeholders in the first quarter of 2026 by the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, His Grace , Most Rev. Geoffrey Onah, whom he said, is “fully prepared “.

He further said that a former Governor of old Imo, Mr Sam Mbakwe, who initiated the Ahiajoku festival, would be honoured alongside all 28 past Ahiajoku lecturers.

“We have the nod of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to proceed with the Ahiajoku festival which is pan-Igbo, domiciled in Imo and supported by all seven Igbo speaking states in Nigeria.

“In addition to a centre fully involved in Igbo culture and tradition, we’re establishing the Ahiajoku fan club where interested persons can come in and interact on Igbo culture.

“As we speak, effort is ongoing to achieve appropriate backup legislation for the centre and club,” he said.

According to him, a compendium of all Ahiajoku lectures in the series from 1979 to date, compiled in three volumes, will be available in a planned E-library for the centre, to make Imo a global destination for study of Igbo culture. (NAN)