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Iwuanyanwu denies telling Igbo to put aside Igbo presidency

Published

11 months ago

July 4, 2023

Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu

Iwuanyanwu denies telling Igbo to put aside Igbo presidency

OHANAEZE Ndigbo Worldwide has described as mischievous media reports that Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, it’s president general said that Igbo should put aside the issue of Igbo presidency.

A statement by Alex Ogbonnaya, national publicity secretary, made available to Realnews on July 3, said on the contrary, a Iwuanyanwu stated the major issues that justified the Igbo enthusiasm for presidency in 2023.

The full statement reads:

The attention of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has been drawn to the news making the rounds to the effect that the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, CFR (Ahaejiagamba) has asked “the Igbos to put aside the issue of Igbo presidency”, amongst others.

“The foregoing remark is the height of a mischievous sensational press hyperbole, aimed at marketing their newspapers. That the Igbo should put aside the issue of Igbo Presidency” is a whimsical conjecture that represents the distorted imaginations of the maladjusted news purveyors.

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“Engr. Iwuanyanwu granted interview to a few journalist on Tuesday, July 2, 2023 and used to occasion to address the major issues that justified the Igbo enthusiasm for presidency in 2023. The report by Naijatweet captured the kernel of the discourse: I crave your indulgence to reproduce the Naijatweet version. “Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has offered insights into the Igbos’ support for Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, in the recent election. In a press interview, he explained that the Igbos believed it was finally their turn to produce the next President, after a prolonged wait since 1979.

“According to Iwuanyanwu, the region had consistently supported other Presidents from the South in the past. The Igbos have been deprived of holding top-level positions since 1979 when General Olusegun Obasanjo handed over power to the civilians… In 1993, General Ibrahim Babangida handed over power to Chief Ernest Shonekan, a Yoruba.

“Iwuanyanwu recalled that the Presidential election won by Moshood Abiola, was unfortunately denied him. He said that Abiola was his close friend, and “I supported him wholeheartedly. Even after Abiola’s victory was unjustly denied, Ernest Shonekan, was appointed as the head of the Interim National Government. Following the military era, the next civilian government was led by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, both from the South West of Nigeria…Later, the Presidency moved to the South-South with Goodluck Jonathan, and Yemi Osinbajo, from the South West served as the Vice President. Now that the Presidency has been zoned to the South once again, the Igbos rightfully believe it is their turn.

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“Iwuanyanwu added that he contested presidency three times and has decided not to pursue that ambition any more. That was the kernel of Iwuanyanwu remarks.

“Chief Iwuanyanwu used the interview to point out that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is his personal friend for years but that he will never place his personal interest above the aspirations and justifications for the good people of the South East. Ahaejiagamba wondered how an Igbo leader could ask the Igbo to put aside the issue of presidency at a point the Peter Obi impressive exploits are gaining traction at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja. Therefore, for anyone to suggest that the Igbo should put aside the issue of presidency is a false news, mundane speculation that dwells in bowels of the purveyors.

“Since his assumption of Office as the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Iwuanyanwu has remained consistent on a transformative philosophical framework that will change the Igbo Land. Iwuanyanwu maintains that the Igbo have the disruptive ingenuity that will transform the Igbo to an economic hub for the entire Africa.

“The Igbo Leader is very enthusiastic that the human and capital resources that the Almighty has endowed the Igbo are sufficient to put us on a top economic scale beyond the Nigerian ethnocentrism. Ahaejiagamba reminds the Igbo that this is a trying period that with God, we will ultimately overcome.”

Related Topics:Igbo Presidency Iwuanyanwu

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Emefiele: Contractor speaks on how he paid $600,000 bribe to CBN director

Published

54 seconds ago

May 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele in court

Emefiele: Contractor speaks on how he paid $600,000 bribe to CBN director

In a dramatic revelation before the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja, a contractor with the Central Bank of Nigeria testified on Friday that he paid a $600,000 bribe to a former CBN director to secure payment for a contract.

Victor Onyejiuwa, Managing Director of Resource Computer Limited, stated that while executing contracts for the CBN, Punch reported on Saturday.

He said he had no direct dealings with former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. Instead, Onyejiuwa alleged that the bribe was paid to John Ayoh, the former CBN Director of Information Technology.

Onyejiuwa explained that all communications with Ayoh were conducted via WhatsApp. He testified that the first installment of $400,000 was paid in Lagos, and the remaining $200,000 was delivered in Abuja.

He noted that there was no formal authorization from CBN management to pay the bribe.

During cross-examination by Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, Onyejiuwa confirmed that Ayoh signed both the contract award and its completion. He detailed that his first contract with the CBN was valued at N1.3 billion, and the second at $2.1 million.

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Onyejiuwa continued to work with the CBN until 2019, after Ayoh’s departure, and stated that no bribes were demanded for subsequent contracts executed under Emefiele’s tenure as governor.

“I did a new contract with the CBN, and no bribe was demanded and the payment for the contract was made in due time,” Onyejiuwa testified.

He admitted under cross-examination that he never sought confirmation from any CBN deputy governors regarding Ayoh’s authority to collect the bribe, nor did he have any direct instructions from Emefiele.

Onyejiuwa also revealed that he did not present any letter demanding a bribe to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court heard that the $600,000 was delivered directly to Ayoh in his office, and signed off by an IT department official after payment.

Former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele and co-defendant Henry Omoile face 26 counts related to abuse of office and alleged fraud totaling $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion. Both have pleaded not guilty.

On the previous hearing date, Onyejiuwa told Justice Rahman Oshodi that he was coerced into paying $600,000 before his contract payment was approved. He recounted a senior CBN official pressuring him in 2017, stating that payment would be withheld unless the bribe was paid. Following this, Onyejiuwa managed to gather $400,000 and $200,000, respectively, which facilitated the contract payment within weeks.

The trial is set to continue on July 9 and 10.

Emefiele: Contractor speaks on how he paid $600,000 bribe to CBN director

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I have been doing a lot work without noise or media hype

Published

14 mins ago

May 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara

I have been doing a lot work without noise or media hype

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, said his administration has recorded a lot of remarkable achievements without making noise or unnecessary publicity about them.

The Governor disclosed this during the inauguration of Emohua/Kalabari Tema Junction Road in Rivers on Friday, May 17, 2024.

Fubara has been locked in a supremacy battle with his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

However, the political feud between the duo seems to have eclipsed the programmes being implemented by the Fubara administration, as explained by the Governor.

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Fubara says he’s been busy in Rivers

Reeling out the details of the road project, Fubara said it is “for those who said that we have not been doing anything to know that we have been doing a lot silently, not with noise or media exaggeration.

“Let me assure our people, as I have said before, this government is a government that is focused, this government is a government that wants the forgotten people to feel the impact of governance.”

He said the total cost of the project is ₦21.2 billion of which the Wike administration committed ₦6 billion while he completed the balance of ₦15.2 billion.

He said he can boldly claim that the project was delivered by his administration as 70% of the job was done during his tenure.

Fubara cautioned that his administration’s success should not be credited to another administration as government is a continuous process.

The Governor reassured the Rivers people that his government is focused on bringing development to the state without entertaining sycophants.

I have been doing a lot work without noise or media hype

News

Minister withdraws orphan-marriage suit against Niger Assembly Speaker

Published

14 hours ago

May 17, 2024

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Minister for Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye

Minister withdraws orphan-marriage suit against Niger Assembly Speaker

The Minister of Women Affairs , Uju Kennedy -Ohanenye, has withdrawn a suit she earlier filed against the speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, following his decision to marry off 100 orphans from his constituency.

Speaking with reporters, the minister noted that the ministry in collaboration with the speaker of the Niger state assembly, and traditional rulers from the state, are currently investigating the ages of the girls to ascertain if they are within the stipulated age for marriage.

According to her, the Ministry of Women Affairs will, for now, focus on empowering girls, as well as others affected by insecurity in the state.

Last week, the speaker, Sarkindaji, announced plans to marry off 100 orphans in his constituency as part of measures to alleviate their sufferings.

While the development had sparked national outrages, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), urged the minister to withdraw the litigation and petition she wrote to the Inspector General of Police.

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The Chairman, Kano State Chapter of MURIC, Malam Hassan Indabawa, who made the call on Thursday night in a statement, urged Nigerians to learn to respect one another’s culture and traditions.

“We found the harsh and hasty decision taken by the Honourable Minister for Women Affairs over a matter that is entirely beyond the scope of her ministry.

“The minister’s attempt at media demonisation of marrying off of 100 poor and orphaned girls, who were largely traumatised for losing both parents to brutal and bloody banditry and insurgency, exposed her ignorance to the culture and traditions of the Muslim North.

“This elaborate media blitz, over the matter, MURIC observed, was deliberately done to sway public opinion against the marriage institution, and an attempt to vilify Sarkin-Daji, after demonstrating his genuine concern for the needs of members of his constituency,” Indabawa said.

The marriage arrangement in question is slated to take place on May 24, 2024.