Acting President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Bayelsa, Chief Remigius Ekwem, has urged Governor Duoye Diri to call his Commissioner for Special Duties, Mazi Johnson Onuma, to order over a leadership tussle in the state.
In a statement issued and made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Owerri, Ekwem decried Onuma’s involvement in a physical fight that left Chief Johnpaul Nwankwo, the Enugu state president of Ohanaeze in Bayelsa, “badly injured and hospitalised.“.
He wondered why Onuma, who hails from Abia and serves as a commissioner in Bayelsa State, would be embroiled in a dispute over who becomes Igwe Ndigbo of Bayelsa.
He argued that the position of Igwe Ndigbo was “open to contest and will be occupied by an elected official,” hence the need for due process.
He warned that any attempt to foist a candidate on the association will be legally and duly resisted.
According to him, the position can also be zoned considering the states of origin of officials currently occupying other positions in Ohanaeze Ndigbo Bayelsa.
He described the commissioner’s recent actions as an embarrassment to the Bayelsa state government while urging the governor to call Onuma in order to avert further damage.
He said, “Abia State is holding the office of the president, women leader, and youth leader, and now he wants to install another Abia person as the Igwe, a candidate who has not spent up to two years in Ohanaeze and is therefore not eligible to contest.”.
He said, “If he had even supported a candidate known by Igbos in Bayelsa, we would have all supported him so that he can contest with Chief Ozuome from Enugu so that anyone who wins will be installed.”.
He therefore called on Governor Douye Diri to call his commissioner to order before more harm is done.
Ekwem, however, said that Nwankwo, who is recuperating in a hospital, is in a stable condition.
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