SOS to South East Governor’s to Rescue Ohanaeze from Uwechue‏

Prince Chukwuemeka Onyesoh writes South-East Governors Pleading with them to rescue Ohanaeze from the pit into which Uwechue plunged it. He reveals very many duplicitous activities in Ohanaeze under Uwechie. Read on:

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OKPALA EZE NA NRI CHUKWUEMEKA I. ONYESOH

NRIENWELANI DRIVE,

OFF FIRST AVENUE,

INDEPENDENCE LAY-OUT,

ENUGU.

PHONE: 08033125223

08024518268

14^th Feb. 2013.

The Governors of the South-East,

Thro’ the Chairman,

South-East Governors’ Forum,

Government House,

Awka.

Your Excellencies,

GENUINE RESOLUTION ON PREVIOUSLY RESOLVED OHANAEZE IMBROGILO:

Valentine and Lenten greetings to your Excellencies. May I first of all crave your indulgence to allow me poke my uninvited nose into an Ohanaeze matter your Excellencies have decided to resolve in your own style. I do so with the best of intentions for peace and progress in Igbo land. I have nothing personal at stake. At over 70, I am swallowing some bit of my personal pride by inviting myself into a discussion. However, I find solace in the fact that my fore-bears of Nri never waited to be invited to settle disputes between warring communities in Igbo land, when in Igbo was Igbo and truth reigned supreme over false-hood.

On 15^th Nov. 2012, I and fellow compatriot, Chief Oyibo Chukwu, filed in an Enugu High Court suit no. E/435/012.  The intention of the suit is to stem the monumental erosion of values in our own dear Ohanaeze Ndigbo. We had no ambitions except to reclaim Ohanaeze from the personal fiefdom into which Chief Uwechue had converted it, with nobody seemingly raising objections.

Imeobi  Ohanaeze and General National Assembly (GNA) used to sit monthly and determine policies/set policy guide lines for the President –General and his executive but in Chief Uwechue’s 4 years, he called only 4 Imeobi meetings and one general assembly. The net effect was that in the 4 years, Chief Uwechue trampled on Ohanaeze Constitution as if it did not exist. The summary of our claims before Enugu High Court are (1) that Chief Uwechue’s legitimate tenure expired on 29^th Jan. 2011 and therefore he is incompetent to conduct any lawful election in Ohanaeze in 2013, and (2) He illegally registered two Foundations in the name of Ohanaeze, collected and spent huge sums of money in the name of the Ohanaeze Foundations and must return those Foundations to Ohanaeze and account for all the monies collected.

A summary of the duplicitous claims being asserted by Chief Uwechue and, unfortunately, Chief Nduka Eya, is as follows:

1. Chief Uwechue was elected and sworn-in to a single term of two years on 29^th Jan. 2009. I conducted his election, published the result and assisted Hon. Justice GU Ononiba (Rtd. CJ, Anambra State) in swearing him in on the same Constitution that enabled his predecessor – Dr. Dozie Ikedife – to serve only two years and hand over to him.
2. 2.      On 6^th Nov. 2010, Chief Uwechue called an Imeobi meeting where he claimed to have amended the Ohanaeze Constitution Article 11 iv(c) extending his tenure of office from two to four years. Unfortunately for him, Nigeria’s laws forbid retroactive legislation. Only Buhari, as a military ruler decreed retroactively and executed Mr. Owo and two others with the retrospective effect of his decree. Buhari is still paying for the national out-rage against this despotic display of power. Again unfortunately for Chief Uwechue, he issued a communiqué of that same Imeobi meeting of 30^th Oct. 2010, which he advertised in the Sun newspaper of Friday 5^th Nov. 2010 and that advertised communiqué does not support his claim that article 11 iv(c) was ever amended. The clause “ It (Imeobi) approved the extension of the tenure of the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and its Executive  by two year” does not mean by any stretch of imagination , an amendment of the Constitution.
3. 3.      On 6^th Nov. 2010 summoned the lone National General Assembly (NGA) of his regime to amend the Constitution and give himself extra two years in office. The rule is that the NGA must ratify whatever clause the Imeobi was proposing for amendment by not less two-thirds majority of members of the total membership of the General Assembly. To ensure easy ride of his proposal, he deployed more than 90 battle-ready riot police men in the Ohanaeze national head-quarters at 7 Park Ave Enugu, the venue of the meeting. I was there like I was in the 30^th Oct. Imeobi meeting. Again, no amendment clause was proposed and none was ratified. The communiqué issued by Chief Uwechue’s National Executive Committee, attached, confirms that the NGA amended no clause of Ohanaeze Constitution.  Resolution 1 of the communiqué, “In accordance with article 29 of the Ohanaeze Constitution, that amendments should be made, to the constitution to provide that the national and state offices be a one term of four years and that the current Executive Committee shall remain in office till December 2012 as approved by Imeobi on 30^th October 2010” does not mean that the constitution was amended.
4. 4.      In answer to our suit of 22^nd Nov. 2012, Chief Uwechue, conscious of the fact that he would perjure if he answered any of the claims against him by affidavit statement, on 15/1/13 filed a written address to his notice of preliminary objection without, an affidavit. He attached a copy of Ohanaeze Constitution with 2-year single tenure for the office of President General.
5. 5.      On 21^st Jan. 2013, we filed a motion for restorative order on the purported election Chief Uwechue claimed to have conducted on 12^th Jan. 2013 despite the fact that he was served all court processes including Motion on Notice on 13^th Dec. 2012. We further filed a written address in answer to his preliminary objection.
6. 6.      After examining the full implications of our paragraphs16,17, and 18  of our proposed statement of claim and finding that his two communiqués admit that there was no amendment of the Ohanaeze Constitution in the meetings of Imeobi and NGA of 30^th October and 6^th Nov. 2010 respectively, Chief Uwechue turned around and claimed that he is relying on a constitution amended or ratified on 30^th Nov. 2003 and attached it to his written address in reply to our written address in opposition to his preliminary objection (relevant pages of that constitution attached). That Constitution dated 27^th Jan, 2004 admits a 4-year single tenure for the office of President-General and other elected officials.
7. 7.      Not being an active member of Ohanaeze Nigbo before his election in 2009, Chief Uwechue was not aware that he was exposing himself to out-right falsehood, deception and forgery on account of following non-controversial facts:

(a)   The Traditional rulers of South-East had on 25^th Jan. 2006, reviewed the matter of two-year and four-year tenure and came to the conclusion that the 2-year tenure Constitution of Ohanaeze is the genuine Constitution of Ohanaeze. Their communiqué was published in the national dailies;

(b)    On 3^rd Feb. and 5^th April 2006, South-East Bishops and Arch-Bishops met with Ohanaeze leaders on the two sides of the divide at the DRAGG Centre, Emene. Both sides made very lengthy presentations, at the end of which the church leaders agreed that the tenure of the President-General was 2 years but pleaded that Chief Irukwu, then President-General of Ohanaeze whose term had expired, should be given some soft landing by graciously allowing him 6 months to wind up.

(c)    South-East governors met with the two sides on the tenure dispute on 18^th Dec. 2005 and received presentations from both parties. Thereafter, they commissioned their Attorneys-General to review the case and advise them on which is the genuine Constitution of Ohanaeze.

(d)   On 17^th February 2006, the five South-East Attorneys-General, two of who were SAN, came out with a unanimous finding that the 2-year tenure Constitution is the genuine Constitution of Ohanaeze. They made specific remarks on the 2-year and the 4-year Constitution. A copy of the findings of the SE AGs is attached.

(e)   On 18^th Jan. 2008, the five Governors of the South-East attended a special over-night meeting with 10 Ohanaeze elders from each of the 5 States at Protea Hotel, Nike Lake, Enugu to resolve Ohanaeze tenure crisis. Present were such elders as late Chief C C Onoh, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, Obi of Onitsha, Agbogidi, HRM Nnaemeka Achebe among several others from all the five States of the south-East including, incidentally, the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku – HRH Prof. Chukwuka Okonjo. The two-year tenure Constitution was re-affirmed as the genuine constitution of Ohanaeze. The 4-year tenure Constitution was dismissed as a wild assertion. The only matter left out-standing was whether a fresh election shall be held or Dr. Dozie Ikedife, elected by the 2-year Constitution, should be allowed to serve out his remaining term and hand over to another elected official by end of 2008 . Anambra elders decided to go home and make a decision. I was one of the ten elders from Anambra State.

(f)     On 31^st Jan. 2008, 37 elders of Anambra met in the conference hall of Anambra Government House unanimously agreed that the 2-year term having been resoundingly accepted, that Dr. Ikedife should serve out his already running tenure and quit. Luckily four of the Governors who attended these two meetings are still Governors. Imo is the only State where there has been a change.

(g)    On 10^th April 2008, the fifty elders of South-East reconvened at Nike Lake hotel for another over-night meeting. HRH Prof. Chukwuka Okonjo – Obi of Ogwashi-Uku – was again present. The meeting accepted that Dr. Ikedife should serve out his two-year tenure and that the Governors should provide him financial support.

(h)    Not knowing that the 4-year Constitution has been exhaustively examined, Chief Uwechue knowingly and with intent to deceive the Court and thereby cause unnecessary confusion, dissension and rancour among Ndigbo, altered and forged following aspects of the so-called 4-year Constitution: (i) he dated the constitution contrary to S-E Attorneys’ General findings; (ii) the last 7 lines on the front page including dates were super-imposed. S-E AGs did not find any such 7 lines on the front page of the Constitution; (iii) the 4-year Constitution was not signed but Uwechue imposed signatures on page 24 of his Constitution; and (iv) if any of the three signatories, really did sign, it would mean they signed after the S-E AG’s review in 2006.

1. Knowing full well that Senator Obi-Committee had wound up sittings and that we were neither invited to the S E Governors’ meeting or Senator Obi’s Committee,  and that your Excellencies would be sitting on Sun. 17^th Feb., probably to take final decisions, Chief Uwechue sent his lawyer to Court on Tuesday 12 Feb. to lie that we were invited to both the Governors’ meeting and Senator Obi’s Committee sittings and that we refused to withdraw our case in court in spite of the fact that all others had withdrawn their cases at the instance of the SE Governors and Igbo leaders. The lawyer even quoted the withdrawal notice of a case he filed for Uwechue’s election committee with which they stopped Ebonyi State from holding their own election, as evidence of our intransigence. Based on this unconventional practice, Uwechue’s lawyer was able to obtain adjournment of proceedings to 19^th March, probably long enough date for the matter to be over-taken by events. The court granted the long adjournment on an undertaking to court by Chief Uwechue’s lawyer that he was going to get us invitations to your reconciliatory meetings. Your Excellencies can judge for your good selves as to whether that was 419 or a respectful conduct. You are meeting on Sunday 17^th Feb. and but for a chance phone call today, there is no way I would have known and be able to make this presentation! One of Uwechue’s deputies even indulged in the unethical conduct of trying to persuade one of our key counsels, who is rendering us pro bono service, to withdraw appearance. Desperation!   Could that have been in the name of rendering service to Ndigbo?
2. We also sued Chief Uwechue for signing resolutions appointing himself and one Akachukwu, trustees of two Ohanaeze Foundations without the authority of his National Executive Committee (NEC), Imeobi and the supreme organ of Ohanaeze – the national General Assembly. This fake resolution, never made by any Ohanaeze organ, was criminally registered at Corporate Affairs Commission; for collecting huge sums of money in the name of Ohanaeze without lodging such monies in any known Ohanaeze account and spending such moneys without the knowledge of any of the three above-listed Ohanaeze organs. His NEC fact-finding committee found all of the above against him in a published report which I am not annexing for want of time. I feel ashamed and belittled reading that the President-General of our Ohanaeze Ndigbo received only $150,000,000 & #20million from the Presidency (Daily Independent, Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012, photocopy attached). For what? Are Ndigbo for sale? And if so, for such miserable & paltry sum?
3.  A decision has therefore been previously taken on the issue of tenure by South-East Governors and Ohanaeze elders at great expense of time and resources to the South-East and at this stage, S-E Governors and Ohanaeze Ndigbo elders are expected to up-hold their decisions based on principles and not expediency. Expediency, from the 1950s, has brought Nigeria to the very low ebb in which we find our country today. Chief Uwechue is therefore out of office from Jan. 2011 and cannot validly conduct a lawful election in 2013.  He should be roundly condemned for acts of infamy against Ndigbo at such a venerable age. We can only stop these condemnable acts of our senior elders if, and only if, we all stand up against them. I have nothing personal against Chief Uwechue who is very much my senior. Besides, he is supposed to be my distant cousin. Ogwashi – Ogwa Nshi – Obi Nri – was set up by an Nri prince like me. If I allow primordial filial sentiments to dominate my thoughts, I should be protecting him. But Nri abhours  alu, nso (taboos). We cleanse them wherever we meet them and we are invited.

If my opinion is invited, I have suggestions on how to avoid these internecine re-occurring disputes among, other-wise, over-aged elders in Igbo land so that we can begin to out-live civil- war- defeat syndrome and leave a worth-while legacy for up-coming generation who are already, unfortunately, watching us dance naked in market places.

Long live Ndigbo!

Long Live Nigeria, better structured and balanced!

Most sincerely yours,

Chukwuemeka I. Onyesoh (Prince)