The Secretary-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Amb. Okey Emuchay, has said that the organisation has no cracks as portrayed in some sections of the media in the country.
Emuchay said this during an interactive session with newsmen in Umuahia on Thursday.
He spoke against the backdrop of the statements usually issued by a group led by one Chidi Ibe and Okechukwu Isiguzoro, who claiming to be the President and Secretary of the organisation, respectively.
According to him, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation is intact under the leadership of Prof. George Obiozor as its President-General.
He, therefore, warned the public not to have anything to do with Ibe and Isguzoro on issues concerning Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide.
Emuchay also appealed to the media to stop recognising them as officials or representatives of the organisation.
He said that the Obiozor-led executive emerged from the group’s general election held in Owerri on Jan. 10, 2021.
“I wish to reiterate that Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide led by Prof. George Obiozor has no division and no faction,” he said.
According to him, the organisation has not held any other election after 2021 to elect new leaders.
“And we only do election not appointment,” he said.
He further said that offices of the organisation are rotated among the seven Igbo speaking states.
He, therefore, urged the media to be mindful of the officers and their positions in the organisation in order not to misinform the public.
He alleged that some statements usually issued by Isiguzoro were inimical to the interest of the Igbo and corporate existence of Nigeria.
Emuchay also spoke on the efforts by the organisation to reach out to other sections of the country to solicit their support for the emergence of the next president from the South-East.
He said: “We are very active in reaching out to other socio-cultural and political organisations in the country.
“We are in regular touch with the Afenifere, the Middle Belt Forum and Northern Elders Forum. They are our partners in our March towards a new, better and egalitarian Nigeria.
“We are working together to achieve a Nigeria that will offer opportunities to all its citizens to live peacefully and pursue their endeavours without any molestation.”
Emuchay, a retired diplomat, further said that the Igbo nation “has contributed and will continue to contribute her best to the unity, stability and progress of the country.
“We are serious stakeholders in the Nigeria project. Our people are everywhere, there’s no part or state of Nigeria you will not find an Igbo man.
“We are the most important tribe projecting unity in Nigeria. We seek fairness, equity, justice and inclusion.
We desire a sense of belonging because Nigeria belongs to everybody.”
Emuchay said that the zone “had faced challenges and is still facing challenges, like any other part of Nigeria.
“No one geopolitical zone in the country can do it alone.
“We are here to stay and we are going nowhere,” the group’s chief scribe said.
He decried the resurgence of insecurity in some states of the South-East, saying the organisation desired a peaceful, fair, credible and transparent electoral process in 2023.
He, therefore, charged the security agencies to step up their game to ensure that the election would not be disrupted by security breaches, especially in Imo.
The Ohaneze chieftain urged eligible voters of Igbo origin to take the election seriously and voted wisely, wherever they reside.
He advised them to stay back in their respective places of residence where they registered in order to be able to vote for candidates of their choice.
