The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council has again come hard on the leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOP, accusing the group of fast sliding into a terrorist organization.
This was part of a press briefing granted by the Secretary-General of the OYC, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike on Monday in Enugu, where he also raised the alarm over the activities of some fifth columnists who he said were impersonating the group.
He challenged the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to return home and fight if indeed he was a freedom fighter.
His alarm came amidst a report where the Deputy President of the OYC, Mazi Obinna Achuonye was quoted to have accused former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu of hobnobbing with IPOB leader to overthrone President Muhammadu Buhari.
Achuonye has now come out to disown the statement, insisting that at no time did he make such allegations.
He told DAILY POST on phone that “I was shocked when someone drew my attention to it. I cannot understand why someone will dish out such with my name and circulate same to media houses without my authorization.”
He vowed to get to the root of the matter, declaring that “Ekweremadu has been a distinguished Igbo son and I cannot imagine myself doing anything to disparage him.”
Similarly, Okwu at a press briefing warned that if the IPOB did not retrace its steps, the Ohanaeze Youths would match them.
“Senator Ike Ekweremadu is an Igbo leader; Ndigbo, it is not in our culture to be insulting our leaders.
“So, the Ohanaeze Youth Council will continue to condemn the attack on Ikeoha. Nnamdi Kanu should know that he has gone beyond what he is supposed to be doing. This is no longer Biafra agitation and we think the end of his game is here.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council is strongly behind Ikeoha and that it why when he came back, we mobilized the entire youths to show the world that the real Igbo youths are in Nigeria here fighting the Igbo course not those in Germany.
“We are surprised that someone who said he is a freedom fighter, ran away and went overseas. When Kwame Nkrumah was fighting for independence, he was in Ghana, when Nelson Mandela was fighting, he was in South-Africa. He was arrested more than two times. When Zik was arrested for Nigeria independence, he was here.
“So, we believe he is a business man going round, negotiating on how to attack people, collecting money from enemies of Ndigbo to attack our best 11.
“When you say you are attacking our Senators and Governors, you are attacking our best 11s and any further attack on any Igbo leader would be resisted. Enough is enough from IPOB.”
On claims that Ekweremadu had an earlier collaboration with the IPOB leader against Buhari, Okwu said it was tissues of lies from faceless individuals.
“Somebody used our name to make publication against our leader and we disclaim it completely. It never happened; we can never say that. Ikeoha cannot fight a country where he has been Deputy Senate President for several years; for what purpose will he overthrow the government? Is he trying to overthrow himself? Because if Buhari is overthrown, all of them would go too, he will cease to be a Senator.
“On that light, we want to tell Chima Obieze to focus on his job as a lawmaker in the Enugu State House of Assembly and steer clear from Ohanaeze youths. He is part of those this confusion, because his actions and inactions are giving rise to some of these faceless write-ups.
“One misguided Oga from Abia State also claimed that the attack was stage-managed the attack. You saw that international embarrassment, you saw him running and you say it was stage-managed; that person is out of his mind.
“Having said this, I want to end by telling Nnamdi Kanu that if he said he is too strong to launch such attack again, let him step his foot on Igbo soil and try it, we will let him know that he lacks the capacity, just a little attack on him he ran away and was telling people about his dog that was killed, is that the person you call freedom fighter?”
