Iwuanyanwu backs Ohanaeze

Frontline Igbo leader Emmanuel Iwuanyawu and Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha clashed yesterday over the adoption of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar by the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

Iwuanyawu justified the endorsement of the Atiku/Obi ticket by the group. Okorocha said the adoption has no political relevance and would not in any way affect the outcome of the forthcoming elections

The Igbo group has come under severe criticism for endorsing Atiku as the preferred candidate for the Igbo.

But Iwuanyanwu, in a telephone chat with The Nation yesterday, said that the apex body, acted in the best interest of the Igbo, who he said has been grossly marginalised.

According to him, Ohaneze Ndigbo, as the highest decision making body of the Igbo has the right to choose who Ndigbo will support without coming under unnecessary attacks.

Further justifying Ohanaeze’s action, Iwuanyanwu, who was in the meeting where Atiku was adopted, said: “The leadership of the cattle rearers has adopted President Muhammadu Buhari as their own and nobody is attacking them, Ohanaeze in the same vein, adopted Atiku because he chose one of us and his programme of restructuring conforms with one of the demand of the Igbo as the only way to address the imbalance in the country.”

Vindication the President-General of the Ohanaeze, Iwuanyanwu explained: “At the meeting, all the states were adequately represented and what the president-general did was put the issue to debate, one was to stay neutral, the other was support Atiku or Buhari but majority of the people voted in support of Atiku, that was how the decision was reached.”

Further commenting on the boycott of the inaugurating of Zik’s Mausoleum in Onitsha by the leadership of Ohaneze, he said that the body was not invited by the government, “it is failure by Igbo in government, they are those who should remind the government.”

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has described the adoption of Atiku as null and void and of no effect.

The governor, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, insisted: “Ohaneze is a socio-cultural organisation and not a registered political party and there is no voting unit or polling booth called Ohaneze. So, its adoption of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should be seen as a folklore and should not give anybody concern.”

Okorocha also pointed out that the action of the Igbo group has no electoral value.

He said: “The adoption is neither here nor there, since it has no electoral value. This is also not the first time Ohaneze has adopted a PDP Presidential Candidate. It did that in 2015, yet, PDP failed with its presidential candidate, while APC won with its presidential candidate.

“And one would have expected Ohaneze to exercise caution this time following what happened in 2015. Indeed, the Organization should have done things differently especially when it remembers that all Igbos whether in PDP, APC, APGA, ADC or SDP are presumed to be members of Ohaneze.

“Not minding the adoption, President Buhari will win in the Southeast and the general election proper. So, Igbos in APC should remain focused and not to make the adoption an issue, when it is not an issue in all ramifications.”