The Secretary General of Ohanaeze, Mazi Ikechukwu Isinguzoro, should be thrown out for misleading President Muhammadu Buhari on state creation in Southeast.
Chief James Ugwu, secretary, Enugu State Committee on Actualisation of Adada State, stated this over the weekend, while reacting to Isinguzoro’s statement which claimed that Aba State had been unanimously recommended by Igbo leaders for creation.
Ugwu said: “That publication is not from Ohanaeze. Isinguzoro is working for Aba State, being an indigene of Abia State.
“Till date, Ohanaeze has not had an executive meeting since the president spoke. The National Executive Council of Ohanaeze is billed for Jan 21 of this month.
“How could such decision be taken even when Ohanaeze has not constituted Ime Obi, its highest decision making organ?”
He urged President Buhari to look into the Ararume Committee Report or wait for the outcome of the ongoing National Assembly exercise on state creation.
His words: “There was the Sen Ararume Committee on state creation in Southeast.
“During the meeting, attended by past and present governors, past and present lawmakers, political leaders, Ohanaeze, speakers of various state houses of assembly, the decision to cast votes was arrived at.
“Adada scored five, Orashi, three; Aba, two, and Njaba scored 0. Thus the Southeast has made its position clear, and nothing has changed since then.
“Also, the National Assembly came up with a programme on constitutional amendment, and state creation was on the agenda. Aba State Movement also submitted a request, like every other state movement. It is therefore lawful that every agitator wait for the outcome of that report.
“If Mr President wants to create one state from the Southeast, let him get the report of the National Assembly.
“I am aware that the National Assembly will soon move towards a referendum which is part of the constitutional amendment.”
He recalled that the immediate past regime of Ohanaeze once set a committee to look into a state to be created in the Southeast as instructed by Southeast Governors’ Forum.
He said: “The committee’s report was never submitted because Aba State movement induced some members with bribes. We petitioned to the then president general of Ohanaeze.
“It came to the knowledge of the committee that we wrote the petition, and it did not submit its report to the then president general who would have transmitted it to Southeast Governors’ Forum, who would have sent it to Mr President. So there was no report.
“Again the meeting Mr President referred to was not between Ohanaeze and Mr President, but with Igbo leaders led by Southeast Governors’ Forum.
“So the submission should be by the forum and not Isinguzoro.”
Meanwhile, the national publicity secretary of Ohanaeze, Alex Ogbonnia, told our correspondent that he was not aware of any meeting that informed the press release by Isinguzoro on the submission of any name of state to the president.
He said: “I am not aware.”