Again, Ohanaeze rejects motion to endorse Jonathan
The decision making body of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Saturday, threw out a motion seeking to adopt President Goodluck Jonathan as the consensus candidate of Ndigbo for next month’s presidential election.
It was the second time the move to endorse Jonathan failed in the Ohaneze meeting as an earlier meeting held on November 9 last year rejected a similar motion.
It was gathered that the inner caucus of the organisation, known as Imeobi, failed to adopt the new motion brought by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, during its meeting at its national secretariat in Enugu.
Though Daily Trust learnt that the endorsement of Jonathan was not even on the agenda, Iwuanyanwu, who is the publisher of Champion Newspapers, moved the motion midway into the meeting and advised Ohanaeze to adopt Jonathan for re-election.
However, his unexpected motion raised some dust in the meeting, forcing the president general Gary Igariwe to adjourn the meeting abruptly.
Those who opposed Iwuanyawu’s motion, it was learnt, argued that it would be suicidal for Ndigbo to endorse one candidate at the expense of the other, especially when Jonathan has failed to redeem promises he made to Ndigbo and by extension to Nigerians.
A communiqué signed by the assistant national publicity secretary Emejulu Okpalaukwu and the organisation’s president in Borno State Maduabuchi Nwaogu said: “The issue of adopting any presidential candidate in the forthcoming Presidential Election in Nigeria was raised, but kept in abeyance as the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo is still consulting.”
Notable Igbo leaders like Chief Mbazulike Amechi, Dr Dozie Ikedife, Justice Eze Ozobu and Professor Ben Nwabueze did not attend the meeting, which had started on a rancorous note over the planned extension of tenure of the national executives from two to four years.
But the organisation said in its communiqué that the tenure of office of its national and state officers was four years.
The communiqué said a committee would be set up by its NEC on the issuessue of reconciliation of all aggrieved parties and to look into the issues of multiple litigations plundering Ohanaeze Ndigbo.