He said he could not have said such when both Yoruba and Igbo have inter-married for years, even with one of his daughters married to a Yoruba man.
Iwuanyanwu made the clarification in a statement on Monday after his comment at Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s one-year-in-office event in Awka, Anambra State, on Saturday, generated controversy.
He said he could not have ridiculed the Yoruba people with his daughter married to a Yoruba man because he won’t want his grandchildren to be discriminated against on the basis of their mother being an Igbo woman.
“On a personal basis, one of my best daughters is married to a prominent Yoruba family in Ibadan, Oyo State. My son in Law and his wife have lived together for over 20 years. This Union has produced four adorable children. I am very proud of my son-in-law. The children of this marriage are Yorubas and not Igbos by our culture and tradition.
“I will not be happy if at any time any group of people discriminates against them in Yoruba land because their mother is Igbo. Over the years many Yoruba and Igbo families have intermarried. It is therefore very important to all men of goodwill to arrest the present situation which if not arrested may cause social unrest,” the statement read in part.
Furthermore, Iwuanyanwu dissociated himself from the reports claiming he made the comment, adding that it was fake news.
He said, “My awareness has been drawn to fake news circulating on social media completely misrepresenting the statement I made at Awka, Anambra State, in connection to the killings, destructions of properties, and harassment of Igbo in Lagos during the recent elections.
“My statement was covered live by Arise Television, Channels, and many other electronic and print media houses.
“All Nigerians of goodwill who care should get the true transcript of my statement from any of these media houses.
“I want to make it abundantly clear that at no time did I make the statement credited to me by blackmail circulating on social media that Yoruba are political rascals as this was fraudulently manipulated.”
He said what he did at the ceremony was to admonish Igbo who felt threatened by alleged attacks in Lagos that they had no cause to worry because there were no problems between the Igbo and Yoruba.
“I, therefore, told them to stay in Lagos and go about their normal business,” he said.
He said he did however mention to them that the alleged attackers “are political rascals and their action does not reflect the good relationship between Yoruba and Igbo.”
