Ohanaeze Ndigbo: I'm the rightful leader not Iwuanyanwu, says Valentine Oparaocha – Newstrends
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Ohanaeze Ndigbo: I’m the rightful leader not Iwuanyanwu, says Valentine Oparaocha

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Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and Valentine Oparaocha

Ohanaeze Ndigbo: I’m the rightful leader not Iwuanyanwu, says Valentine Oparaocha

VALENTINE Oparaocha, President General of Igbo Community, Minna, has laid claims to the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo World Wide.

According to him, he came second in the election that brought in the late Prof. Obiozor, past leader of the group.

In a petition to the Imeobi, Oparaocha rejected the appointment/selection of Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu as the new President General, PG, as unconstitutional.

He said that the Imo State Government had no business selecting President General for Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Ezes and the Imo people alone could not choose who becomes  the President General.

Expressing his disaffection over the choice of Iwuanyanwu as the new President General, Oparaocha recalled that when the position was advertised in the year 2020, 18 Imo State indigenes indicated interest.

According to him, six bought forms at the cost of N500,000 and were all screened.

“The Elders Council and the Imo State government stepped in and asked everyone to step down for Prof. Obiozor! Prof. Obiozor was 78 at the time.

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“On the 10th January, 2021, we obediently oblige. No compensation for transportation, hotel accommodation, advertisement. No refund of money spent for the form. Kola nut worth N10 million was given to each of the states that attended as bribe. But nothing to compensate the contestants.

“At the last minute, the electoral committee insisted that there must be three contestants. This brought two of us back in to contest with Obiozor. He won. And I came second behind him, the state anointed candidate.

“However, Obiozor died. This was not envisaged. But the constitution has not changed. It is time to replace him. The IMO state turn has not elapsed.

“Chief Iwuanyanwu can win election, why the selection? This is setting a bad precedence which is capable of breaking Ohanaeze further. It is unconstitutional and it is illegal.

“The constitution is still there. Those who bought form and contested with Obiozor are still there. Rather than looking for already screened candidates, who bought forms and are equally qualified for the job, you have selected another elder, (80yrs old), far above the constitutional requirements, to spite the younger people.” he added.

Oparaocha has also based his claims on the following:

·         That the constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo provided that the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo should be elected through a contested election and also by rotation, among the seven Igbo speaking states of southern Nigeria.

.      That it is the turn of Imo State indigenes to produce the President General between the year 2021- 2025. Hence, only someone from Imo State can replace Obiozor till 2025. ‘But this must be by election.’

·         That the same constitution stated that the President General should be between the ages of 50 & 70 years old.

The Imeobi will be ratifying the selection of Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide on the 30th of April, 2023, in Enugu State.

 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo: I’m the rightful leader not Iwuanyanwu, says Valentine Oparaocha

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Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

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Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo

Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.

He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.

The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.

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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.

“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”

Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.

“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.

“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.

 

Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

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Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

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Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”

His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.

In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.

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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”

Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.

He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.

“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.

 

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

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Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

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Olusola Ebiseni

Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.

The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.

The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.

The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.

The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.

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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”

Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.

Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.

Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.

However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.

 

Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

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