Richard Ozobu, a leader in the top Igbo cultural organization Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has called the upcoming January 10 election for the President-General and other officials illegal. He stated that this election violates the organization’s constitution. The chair of the Ohanaeze parallel electoral committee mentioned that an election on January 6 resulted in the election of Chief Jackson Omenazu as President-General and Okechukwu Isiguzoro as deputy. In his statement, Ozobu asserted that no legitimate election can occur in Ohanaeze after midnight on January 9. He emphasized, “Anyone or committee claiming to conduct the Ohanaeze election on January 10 is acting unlawfully.” No legitimate election in Ohanaeze can occur after midnight on January 9. The executive committee that established the electoral committee will have its tenure end at that time. A valid election took place on January 6, resulting in the election of a new President General and deputy, Chief Jackson Omenazu and Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, respectively. Any election held tomorrow, January 10, would be considered illegal according to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo constitution. Ohanaeze Ndigbo is comprised of seven states as stated in its constitution. These 7 states have a constitutional arrangement for sharing executive roles on a rotational basis. Currently, it is Rivers State’s turn to select the PG. A group that is claiming to hold an election tomorrow, January 10, opposes this arrangement. However, we announced our election schedule and maintained that it is Rivers State’s turn to nominate the next PG, and the election has already taken place. It is against the law to claim that there will be an election tomorrow; we have already elected a PG and his deputy. “The regulations are straightforward.” According to the Ohanaeze constitution, a delegate election for registered members took place in Enugu, featuring representatives from the seven Igbo-speaking states.
