- Chief Enwo-Igariwey is sole President-General
- Dr Ralph Obioha is Chairman of agreement implementation committee
- Ohaneze family is back as one in peace again – Okorocha
Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has reconciled the two factional leaders of Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo, Chief Gray Enwo-Igariwey and Dr. Ralph Obioha. Henceforth, Obioha would drop his claim to the president-general of Ohaneze title and accept Chief Enwo-Igariwey as the only President-General of the organization. Also, Obioha pledged to give Chief Igariwey all the needed support and cooperation to enable him to succeed.
The reconciliation of the two factions came Monday night at the end of a very lengthy meeting between the two leaders, members of their respective EXCOs and delegates from the states that make up Ohaneze at Government House, Owerri, with Okorocha presiding over the meeting.
At its end, Dr. Obioha dropped his lingering claim as the authentic president-general of Ohaneze, and declared that he and his faction had accepted the leadership of Chief Igariwey as the President-General of Ohaneze, a declaration which elicited thunderous jubilation in the Ndubuisi Kanu Exco Chambers, Government House, Owerri.
Mr Sam Onwuemeodo, Chief Press Secretary to Imo State Governor, in a statement gave one additional agreement at the meeting to include the elongation of the tenure of Chief Igariwey by one year, at the expiry of which fresh election would be conducted to select new leaders of the body.
Going forward, Dr. Obioha will be Chairman of the 17-member committee which would see to the implementation of all the terms of the agreement, including the election of new executives, with the governors nominating one member each.
Consequently, with the restoration of peace, all those suspended from the body in the course of the squabble between the two factions were also recalled and all the court cases occasioned by the dispute would also be withdrawn.
In his speech at the historic event, Governor Okorocha expressed gladness that “the Ohaneze family is back as one. There is peace now in Ohaneze. The Ohaneze with Chief Igariwey as President-General is the umbrella body to champion the cause of the Igbos. Today, we have proved to the world that Igbos are their brothers’ keepers.”
Okorocha continued, “The President of Ohaneze will soon address the Igbo nation. All Igbos must join hands with the Ohaneze leadership to move Igbo nation forward. With this peace, we are going to see a new kind of support for Ohaneze. The rest of the world will hear about the Igbo nation. The jinx has been broken.”
He continued, “With this peace, we are going to emphasize on the economy of the South-East rather than politics. We shall make it, with God on our side. The old things have passed away and behold new things are taking place. And I want to commend all my brothers and sisters here for this peace in Ohaneze. This is a new Ohaneze that will move the Igbo nation forward.”
According to Okorocha, “The governors will be behind the leadership and the entire NEC, so that a new song will be sung in the Igbo nation. I commend the President-General for keeping the Ohaneze spirit on, despite the lack of support from the stakeholders.”
Chief Igariwey and Dr. Obioha, in their respective speeches, said achieving peace in the leadership of Ohaneze and reconciling the two factions should be celebrated by all Igbos because the division had never augured well with the august body and the interest of the Igbos in general.
They commended Governor Okorocha for ensuring that peace and unity return to Ohaneze, and assured that they would not let the Igbos down. They said Ohaneze would now be occupied with issues that would boost the economy of Igboland.
The two leaders, Dr. Obioha and Chief Igariwey also addressed the journalists before leaving the venue of the meeting and said the world would now know the Igbos better, that they disagree to agree in the overall interest of the Igbo nation and her people.