By Cajetan Mmuta, Awka
The apex Igbo organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has cautioned the leadership and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) over the threat of one-week sit-at-home across states in the southeast geo-political zone.

The group warned that anything that would disrupt the forthcoming November 6 governorship election in Anambra State will not be to the advantage of Ndigbo as the state is the economic livewire of the whole southeast.

Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Alex Ogbonnia, disclosed this yesterday in a telephone interview with ThisNigeria.

He said, “There is a certain trajectory of economic growth; for example, the rural infrastructure, the road network in Anambra is the best so far, including the airport. So, that trajectory should not be disrupted; anything that will disrupt the political dynamics in Anambra is not to the advantage of the Igbo. It is based on the foregoing that Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide is asking for restraint, maturity, and wisdom.”

Ogbonnia reminded IPOB that “You do not face the barrel of gun inwards; we don’t begin to fight and destroy ourselves”.

He said: “More importantly, all the Igbo leaders, all no exception, are together in the efforts to free Nnamdi Kanu. I have seen that everybody is struggling to see how Nnamdi Kanu is freed. At the Ohanaeze level, right from Prof George Obiozor, we have a council of elders led by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu; we have the National Assembly caucus led by Senator Ike Ekweremadu, they are working.

“The Abia State Government has already made a statement concerning Nnamdi Kanu, Chief Nwodo, everybody. We are yet to know anybody in Igbo land who is not working to make sure that Nnamdi Kanu is free.”

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The Ohanaeze scribe further explained that the apex socio-cultural organisation was working in collaboration with other eminent Igbo stakeholders on the steps to take to move on to achieve the collective result.

“What is important now is to harness the views of all the eminent Igbo leaders and stakeholders such as somebody like Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, who was governor so many years ago, and the likes of Chief Nwobodo and so on. All the Igbo leaders today are united in the efforts to see him come out.

“So, the best idea now is to deliberate amongst ourselves, including meeting with IPOB and the rest of other interest groups to take a position that is suitable to all and not to hurt the political and economic activities of Ndigbo, especially, Anambra State,” Ogbonnia stated.
Also, a senior lawyer and chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra, John Okoli-Akirika, said: “The leadership of IPOB should desist, they are urged, they are pleaded and they are advised to take the holistic and contextual appraisal of the economic and socio-political conditions in this country and realise that in as much as we are entitled to rights to self-determination, there is always means to do that under due process.

“They should allow the election already scheduled to take place on November 6 even for any reasons, God forbid, the election does not take place that will not automatically translate to the release of Nnamdi Kanu.”

Okoli-Akirika, who is also the Secretary of PDP, pointed out that, “They should withdraw now that Nnamdi Kanu had been produced in court, they should ensure that due process is followed and followed timely, all necessary applications should be attended to by the presiding judge and lawyers so that to make sure that justice is not only done but manifestly and undoubtedly seem to have been done.

“So, I wouldn’t advocate the decision where the clamour for the release or trial of Nnamdi Kanu is linked or subjected to Anambra state governorship election.

I think they should allow sanity, common sense, maturity, and sagacity to prevail in a situation of this nature by making sure that the election takes place quietly.

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“IPOB should educate Ndi Anambra on how to vote wisely to elect somebody who will help in fighting the cause of Nnamdi Kanu for justice and Ndigbo and not call for a total boycott of that election.”

Also, the Director of Media and Publicity Secretary, Senator Andy Uba Governorship Campaign Organisation (SAUGCO), Afam Ogene, said in his reaction, “Security agencies should be the ones to speak on the matter.”

Ogene stated that “For political parties, elections are conducted under an atmosphere where safety is guaranteed and it is the security agencies that can guarantee security. We are hoping that the atmosphere will be conducive for voters and electoral officials to operate”.

President Muhammadu Buhari had last week vowed to sustain the nation’s democratic order and do the needful in terms of ensuring that the governorship election holds in Anambra on November 6.

The President’s pledge came amid IPOB’s threat to lock down the entire southeast for six days if its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was not released unconditionally before November

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However, the Federal and Anambra state governments had since dismissed the threat, assuring that nothing would stop the conduct of the election.