Ohanaeze set to leave, as Northern groups’ request

The people of South-East are not concerned about a suit seeking the zone’s exit from Nigeria, says Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization.

It was gathered that the suit was filed by a coalition of Northern groups. At the last hearing, some Igbo lawyers also approached the court, seeking to be joined as respondents.

Speaking on the development, the Secretary-General of the Chidi Ibeh-led Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Okechukwu Isiguzoro urged the Federal Government to accede to the request by the Northern groups.

He said from every indication, the Igbo are no longer safe in the country, adding that the suit was a gimmick to frustrate the demand for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction.

While blaming desperate politicians from the North for the suit, Isiguzoro applauded the Northern groups for indirectly divulging clandestine conspiracies from the North to push the South East out of Nigeria.

He said, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has assessed the standpoints of the Northern groups that approached Abuja Federal High Court to request that the National Assembly should be coerced by the court before their conclusion on the ongoing constitution amendment to allow the South East to exit from Nigeria.

“The plaintiffs led by Nastura Shariff, Balarabe Rufai, Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman and Aminu Adam, explained that their action was informed by the need to curtail violence and destruction as a result of the agitation for secession championed by IPOB.

“The exponents of these demonic campaigns are being sponsored by Northern Governors and we are urging the Federal Government to assent to their requests since it appears that south-Easterners are no longer acceptable and protected by the Federal authorities in policies and practices.

“All these shenanigans are to stop an Igbo man from succeeding President Buhari in 2023. The Igbo are open to all options, either to remain as part of Nigeria or to be allowed to exit the country.

“It’s high time the Federal Government negotiated with the Igbo because Nigeria’s unity is negotiable”.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo is an apex Igbo socio-cultural group in Nigeria. The group represents all Igbo communities within and outside Nigeria. Igbos by census, represent one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria.