Free Kanu for lasting peace in S’East, Ohanaeze implores Buhari – Nexus News
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Council has bewailed the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the supreme leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), by the Federal Government. It also berated the unresolved insecurity and killing of innocent people in the country.
Speaking with Newsmen yesterday, in Owerri, the Imo State chapter president of the body, Chidi Ihemedu, implored President Muhammadu Buhari to quicken the immediate release of the IPOB leader in the interest of peace.
He reiterated that beyond the charges filed against the chief agitator, he was entitled to say or agitate for anything he felt that was wrong in the country or against his people.
Ihemedu noted that his release would end the insecurity and socio-economic challenges facing the country, particularly in the SouthEast states.
He said: “I want to say that there is no need for the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu. In fact, there is no need at all. You have arrested him for alleged charges but the situation now does not warrant the continued detention of the young man.
“Apart from giving him the publicity of being a political detainee, he should be let go. And mind you, he is entitled to his agitation. There is nothing wrong with agitation. After all, we have people that agitated in one way or the other for Nigeria’s independence.”
On the 2023 general elections and the call by Ndigbo for the presidential slot, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo chieftain emphasized that anything short of giving the Igbo the opportunity to produce Nigeria’s next President come next year would be a discrepancy with equity, equality, fairness and national character.
He added: “There should be zoning of the presidency in 2023. That is the equality and equity we are talking about. That is also the principle of national character that is enshrined in our Constitution.
“As we have already said, Ohanaeze Ndigbo is going to support any political party that gives the Igbo race the opportunity to become the President of this country this time around.”
ALSO, a group, Concerned Citizens of Igbo Race (COCIR), urged the ethnic nationality to be united for the presidency.
It equally implored the state governments to approve amnesty to all agitators and hoodlums operating in the region for sustainable harmony.
The appeals were inscribed in a press release issued yesterday in Owerri after a consultative meeting with the theme, “Re-integration of the Igbos for National Relevance,” approved by the National President, Reverend Emmanuel Ikechukwu Omeokwe; National Secretary, Prince Francis Chilaka; National Director of Media and Publicity, Prince Joseph Nwosu-Okorie and National Director of Strategy and Logistics, Pastor Anayo Vincent Uba.
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The group reiterated that the presidential project can never be actualized if the ethnic nationality stays divided, noting that there was an urgent need to reach out to other ethnic groups preaching justice and equity.
ANOTHER group, Peoples Democratic Party PDP Pressure (PDP) National Youth Vanguard, yesterday, appealed to the party’s leadership to excommunicate former Deputy Chief of Staff to Abia State Governor, Chief Charles Ogbonna, for reportedly working against Igbo presidency.
In a press release in Abakaliki, the National Publicity Secretary, Franklin Nkemdirim, said that the group was “aware of the fact that he is the ring leader of political musketeers, who are interested in advancing the interest of Atiku Abubakar against the South East project.”
He acknowledged that though it was his constitutional right to canvass for any aspirant of his choice, but quickly added doing it now against the interest of Ndigbo “shows that he is the leprosy finger that deserves political amputation and should not be allowed to repeat the sad history of Jos ‘98 PDP convention where Jim Nwobodo was used to abort the victory of Dr. (Alex) Ekwueme.”
