Umbrella organisation of all Igbo, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has said that zoning the Presidency to Igboland by all the political parties in Nigeria and an Igbo succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari will heal the wounds of the civil war.

This came as apex Diaspora Igbo group, Igbo World Assembly, IWA, has warned against any further attempt to set up a splinter Ohanaeze, saying the idea is in bad taste and not politically expedient for Igbo unity.

Spokesman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chuks Ibegbu, spoke on presidency of Igbo extraction when a delegation of Pan Nigeria Presidency of Igbo Extraction Coalition, PANPIEC, visited him in Umuahia, Abia State capital.

The delegation led by the Abia State President of PANPIEC, Mr Obinna Arungwa, told Ibegbu that they were in his office to interface with him as the spokesman of Ndigbo and seek his support for the project.

Ibegbu thanked the delegation and assured them that Ohanaeze supports the mission of PANPIEC and urged them to build bridges across the country for the realisation of the programme .

He noted that the civil war in Nigeria can only end pratically if an Igbo become President in 2023.

Insisting on unified Ohanaeze leadership led by Barrister Nnia Nwodo, IWA in a communiqué after its recent skype meeting jointly signed by its Chairman, Dr. Nwachukwu Anakwenze, Vice Chairman, Christian Onuorah and Secretary General, Oliver Nwankwor while condemning the plot in the strongest term also urged Igwe Nkeli Nzekwe, the traditional ruler of Igbariam in Anambra State and his group to desist from further attempt to divide Ohanaeze.

According to IWA in the communiqué, “We recognise that time and again, an Igbo speaking governor may hold a personal perspective and that is his or her prerogative, but the general consensus of Ohanaeze Ndiigbo remains that Chief Nnia Nwodo, the current President General of Ohanaeze is the only authentic mouthpiece of the Ndi-Igbo.

“This type of interference on the legitimate leadership of Ohanaeze must be condemned by all full-blooded Igbo persons.”

“The report reaching IWA stated that Igwe Nkeli Nzekwe, went to Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, to register another Ohaneze group with the same exact name. His actions were foiled when CAC realized that Ohaneze has been in existence since 1976 with its corporate charter legally registered by CAC”.

IWA informed that no Igbo person or groups asked Igwe Nkeli Nzekwe, or the self-appointed Barrister Basil Onyeachonam, who assumed the post the President General, to register Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly with CAC.

“Ndiigbo did not give Igwe Nkeli Nzekwe, any permission to inaugurate its “national and state executive committee members”, in his palace in Igbariam, while awarding the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees (BOT) to himself. These two usurpers owe Ndiigbo a well-deserved apology for their act of thuggery and rascality.

“IWA believes that the new group was being used by some politicians to cause disaffection in Igboland because our President General Barrister Nnia Nwodo Ohanaeze Ndigbo is competently leading an active, hardworking and viable Ohanaeze Ndigbo organization.

“Our true board of Trustee (BoT) Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndiigbo remains the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe. All the eminent Igbo leaders are in Ohanaeze including, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Prof Ben Nwabueze, SAN, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Southeast governors, among others.

“The purported new group is just being used to create confusion and destabilize Igboland. We believes that Igwe Nkeli Nzekwe and his group are being used to destabilize Ohanaeze and Igbo interests”, IWA stated in the communiqué.