Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide (OYC) has described as unacceptable the endorsement of former Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States of America, Prof. George Obiozor as consensus candidate to succeed Nnia Nwodo as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
A statement signed by President General of OYC, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, alleged that the much publicized endorsement of Obiozor by the Nnia Nwodo-led executive in collaboration with Chairman of Ohanaeze Elders Council, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, in Owerri, Imo State was a plot by Nwodo and Governor Hope Uzodimma to hijack Ohanaeze Ndigbo for political reasons in 2023.
The council said the endorsement of Obiozor as consensus candidate is alien to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s constitution, and also evidence of desperation to hijack the structure of the organization to support a northern candidate with Igbo man as vice for the 2023 presidential election.
OYC alleged that the other South Eastern governors were deceived to the extent that they never knew that Igbo serving ministers and others who are traditional leaders of ‘Ime Obi’ according to Ohanaeze Ndigbo constitution were left out in the process of Obiozor’s endorsement.
The council stated that according to the constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Article 11(a), ‘It’s only after the screening of aspirants by the electoral committee that candidates can emerge for the office of the President General, Secretary General and other officials, while Article 11(b) of the constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo stipulates that the President General shall be elected by the National General Assembly’.
OYC said that with the endorsement of Obiozor and co in Owerri, the election of January 2021 had been conducted in November 2020, adding that the last phase of the plot is to resort to the unconstitutional assemblage of few people as ‘Ime Obi’ to adopt the secret electoral committee on Sunday, 6th December, 2020.
The group urged South East governors, Igbo serving ministers, traditional rulers and statesmen to either postpone the ‘Ime Obi’ meeting of 6th December or stop Nwodo from presiding
