SOUTH EAST LEADERS SHUN OHANEZE'S MEETING BECAUSE OF JONATHAN'S DEFEAT..

A meeting of the apex Igbo socio-cultural
organization, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu on
Sunday witnessed poor attendance as most Igbo
leaders stayed away.
The meeting, which is the first since the swearing-
in of President Muhammadu Buhari, had only a
handful of persons in attendance. Most regular
faces in the previous meetings never showed up.
Ohanaeze had before the election, declared total
support for former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Also, as a major fallout of the presidential polls,
the Ohanaeze leadership declared that there
would be no formal activity to mark the 2015 Igbo
day celebration.
The event is usually celebrated on the 29th of
September every year.
President-General of Ohanaeze, Chief Enwo
Igariwey, who briefed journalists on the outcome
of the meeting said this was a time for sober
reflection.
He said “we had a meeting, a select group met in-
house with Ohanaeze executive to discuss the
Igbo day celebration.
“It will be held in low-key; branches are free to
celebrate the Igbo day as they want, but at the
national level, we have decided to retreat, to think
back. The situation of things in the country calls
for tact and unity among Ndigbo. This is also why
the theme of this year’s celebration is ‘Ako na
Uche; Njiko Aka’, (tact and unity).”
Igariwey, however, stated that even though there
would be no activity at the national level of
Ohanaeze to mark the day, “we are calling on
Ndigbo to observe the compulsory 3 minutes of
silence on the 29th of September for people who
died during the civil war.”
He added that “our people should not be agitated
or disappointed by lopsided appointments made
by the President. We should remain calm,
steadfast and think home on how to develop our
place. We should speak with one voice and avoid
distractions.”
Earlier in an interview, former Secretary-General
of Ohanaeze, Col. Joe Achuzie called on Ndigbo
not to despair but to remain viable opposition.
The Biafra war veteran said “having known that
the President has distributed key positions”,
Ndigbo should only accept ministerial positions if
they would use such in the interest of the zone.
“If one is taking up the position, the person
should not use it to popularize himself as others
did in the past, it should only be on the basis of
working for the interest of Ndigbo.
“We are already in the opposition; so Igbos
should maximize everything in the opposition and
remain viable to get something better out of it”,
he declared.