'ROCHAS HAS NO RIGHT TO SPEAK FOR IGBOS'- Ohaeneze

The Youth Wing of the apex Igbo cultural Organization,
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Monday urged the Governor of
Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, to channel his
energy in drawing the attention of President
Muhammadu Buhari towards obeying the principles of
Federal Character in all his appointments.
Ohanaeze equally said Okorocha lacked the locus
standi to speak for Ndigbo and that he had no mandate
to speak on their behalf.
The group made the statement through its National
President, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro and National
Secretary, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, who led the National
Executives of the youth wing to hold a meeting with
Akwa Ibom state chapter of the organization on the
well-being of the Igbos in the state.
The group, which said that the youth wing National
Executives of the organization were on a working visit
to the state, maintained that the meeting with Akwa
Ibom Chapter of the body was anchored on proffering
ideas aimed at protecting the welfare and interests of
Igbos resident in the state.
They said that it became pertinent that the youth wing
reacted to the recent interview credited to Okorocha, in
which he blamed Igbos for being the cause of their
exclusion in recent appointments made by Buhari.
In the said interview, Okorocha reportedly said, “Some
of the appointments we lost were caused by our
people.”
Okorocha, also in the interview, claimed that Igbo
leaders refused to listen to him when he cried like “a
lonely voice in the wilderness” while urging the Igbos
to embrace Buhari and the APC.
The Imo State governor also accused Igbos of putting
their eggs in one basket despite his admonitions that
such a decision was unwise.
But reacting further, Ohanaeze youth wing maintained
that Ndigbo would never regret any political decisions
they took in the March 28th Presidential Election
because the issue of implementation of National Confab
was considered.
“We use this medium to warn Okorocha to concentrate
on the affairs of how to make IMO State better by
prompt payment of workers salaries and Free
Education projects and forget dabbling into the affairs
of Ndigbo.
“Gov Okorocha and the APC South East Spokesman,
Osita Okechukwu, should not wash their dirty linens
outside but should imbibe the Igbo values of ‘ONYE
Aghala Nwanne Ya’.
“We call on President Buhari to work towards fulfilling
his electoral promises to Ndigbo, especially the
revamping of Enugu Coal mine, which has remained
moribund for 43 Years now.” the group added.
Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom Chapter of Ohanaeze
Ndigbo Youth wing has appealed to the Department of
the State Services, to release the report of its finding on
the recent invasion of Akwa Ibom government house by
its operatives so as to calm the nerves of both
indigenes and non-indigenes in the state.
The state chairman of the group, Mazi Emmanuel
Ikechukwu-Jonathan, said that the continuous silence
exhibited by the DSS after the raid was enough to put
fears on those who wanted to invest in the state or
currently doing business in the state.
“We are making this appeal because of our people who
have invested heavily in the economy of this state as
we don’t want anything that will create civil unrest
because it is our people who will suffer most.
“You know that any part of this country where there is
civil unrest, it is the Igbos who normally suffer the
damages because they are the highest in number, in
terms of the non-indigenes you will find in any state
outside the South East.
“Currently the APC and the PDP are trading blames and
you don’t know what may come out of such actions”,
hee added.
Ohanaeze also sympathized with their in-law, the
Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over
the accident he had on his way to Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport, Abuja to catch an international
flight so as to visit his family abroad.
“We wish our in-law quick recovery from injuries he
sustained from that accident and pray God to continue
to protect him in all his endeavours,” the group added.