This followed a reconciliation meeting brokered by the Chairman, South East Caucus in the National Assembly, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe at the weekend.
Abaribe, who spoke after the three-hour meeting, said he was mandated by the Nzuko Umunna Ndigbo, a group of professionals from the South East to reconcile the two feuding sons of Igboland.
He added that the meeting was successful saying: “The hatchet is already buried. They agreed that everything that happened before now is now in the past and buried and we are moving forward with a new spirit of a greater Igbo nation.
“I’m very happy at the conclusions that were reached. I’m very happy that I was part of the process. I’m very happy that both of them also saw me as somebody that they could trust enough to broker peace between them.”
After the three hour meeting attended by Prof. Chidi Osuagwu; Barr Ozioma Izuora; Rev Fr. Anthony Ezeoke; Dr Efere Ifendu and Chief Patrick Chidolue, at Abaribe’s Apo Quarters residence, Abuja at the weekend, the two estranged allies promised to bury the hatchet and work for the good of Igboland and a united Nigeria.
Senator Victor Umeh, who was first to speak said: “Myself and my brother Chief Chekwas Okorie, we’ve come a long way before we went apart. It’s a very great reunion for both of us. We don’t quarrel outside; we greet ourselves, but we retained our differences. But today, we have buried the hatchet. We don’t have any difference anymore. Chekwas is my brother and I cherish him a great deal. We even exchanged gifts after the reconciliation.”
Chief Chekwas Okorie in a response said that the resolution was welcomed by him, adding it was better late than never.
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He also stated that he looked forward to a time the APGA and his United Progressive Party (UPP) would work together for a restructured Nigeria and united Igbo land.
He said: “It’s (reconciliation) something that I wish would have come much earlier. But it is better late than never and I can also tell you that I still look forward to that time when UPP and APGA will reunite to give Ndigbo a very strong, veritable platform to engage the rest of
Nigeria.
“That was the original vision and quite frankly, that’s why I said I wish it had come earlier because if it had come earlier, there probably won’t be UPP today.
But since it’s better late than never, I look forward to the time that UPP and APGA will come together because they have the same DNA, same parentage, same ideology, same vision and if they ever come together, the politics of Nigeria will benefit from United, vibrant Igbo front because whether re restructure or not restructure, a very constructive engagement from various power points of Nigeria will bring about a better Nigeria, not the dominance of one group against the other. Once we are divided, we open ourselves to dominance.”
and then