Ohanaeze Group Denies Describing Tinubu’s Emergence As ‘Calamity’ Over APC Primaries

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Thursday, disclaimed a report circulating in some sections of the media, claiming that it described the election of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the APC as a ‘national calamity, considering the enormity of the baggage he is burdened with’.

Ohanaeze, in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, said the statement did not emanate from the group.

According to him, “We have no hands in the contents, context, comprehension and delivery of the unfounded statement.

“Ohanaeze read the message with sadness and views its contents as unfortunate, especially the attacks in that statement on the person and health status of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“The statement is very unfortunate, irresponsible, diversionary and most reprehensible. We had earlier stated that those behind such fake press releases are mischief-makers, impostors, charlatans and unscrupulous social climbers who have shamelessly leeched on the invaluable footprints of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to issue press releases for narrow, perverse and illicit pecuniary interests.

“It is such unwholesome activities by some maladjusted, impish scaremongers that have been the bane of Igbo cohesion.”

Ohanaeze clarified that the writer of the statement ‘is not the secretary general of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo’.

Dr Ogbonnia said, “The secretary general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide is H.E Amb. Okay Emuchay, and not the impostor that authored the ill-informed, ill-advised statement.

“For the avoidance of doubts, Ohanaeze has no personal issues with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to warrant the careless comments on his person, although we certainly have issues with the current political arrangement and structure that appear to be an orchestrated policy to alienate, isolate, exclude, marginalize and frustrate Ndigbo in a country that has the manifest imprints of Igbo sweat, sacrifice, ambience and transformation.”

The statement added that Ohanaeze would soon make its position on the current political situation in the country known.

Quoting the statement, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, led by Ambassador Professor George Obiozor, is following the political development very closely with keen interests, and will make its position public at the appropriate time.”