A few days before the presidential election, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide issued a statement that elicited joy in Peter Obi’s camp.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the leading sociocultural organization of the Igbo people, declared on Wednesday that it would continue to support Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate.
The statement was released by the organization’s national publicity secretary, Mr. Alex Ogbonnia, who expressed disappointment over the recent endorsement of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s standard bearer, by the Ohanaeze women.
He claims that on February 17, 2023, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide National Executive Committee (NEC), presided over by Secretary-General Amb. Okey Emuchay, reaffirmed its unwavering support for Mr. Peter Obi.
He said the stand was in resonance with the right-thinking patriotic Nigerians and indeed the global community that Peter Obi stands out as the “most suitable, competent, visionary, inspiring and energetic presidential candidate for the forthcoming general election”.
He added that Emuchay expressed deep shock that while the Afenifere, Pan-Niger-Delta Forum (PANDEF) Middle Belt, the Muslim Clerics had united in the Obi/Datti movement, the Ohanaeze Women Wing would embark on a mission completely at variance with the interest and position of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
Ogbonnia said: “The National Executive Committee (NEC) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, presided over by our Secretary-General, Amb. Okey Emuchay sat at the National Secretariat, No 7 Park Avenue, GRA, Enugu on Friday, February 17, 2023, and reaffirmed its irrevocable support for Mr Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
“Obi is not only an exceptional convergence of history, equity and public consciousness, he is also a moral edifice, purveyor of excellence, a quintessential public administrator and the embodiment of the new Nigeria that all Nigerians crave.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo vehemently dissociates itself from such an unwarranted, unconscionable and subversive endorsement of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) by its women wing.”
He, however, warned that Ohanaeze Ndigbo would not condone acts of insubordination and sabotage from any of its officers and affiliates.
He expressed profound gratitude to the youths, courageous elder statesmen, market women, the clergy, clerics, artisans, Nigerian students all over the country and the international community for their invaluable support to Mr Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed.
He urged Nigerians to ignore all forms of distractions and troops out en-masse on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, to discharge their civic duties in favour of Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed of the LP as the only vessel to achieve a better Nigeria.