From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Baring any last minute change, former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, looks unstoppable in quest to clinch the coveted position of President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, zoned to Rivers State.
The election of new national leadership for the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization will hold on Friday, January 10.
The last election which enthroned the outgoing executive members held at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, Imo State, four years ago.
Already, many names are being touted for the position, including former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi; former Deputy Speaker Chibudom Nwuche; businessman, Senator Azuta Mbata, as well as Okiro.
Also mentioned for the top job is former Secretary-General of the group, Uche Okwukwu, who fell out with the then leadership of Chief Nnia Nwodo and in January 2021 joined an alleged faction, led by Chief Chidi Ibeh.
Others are publisher and activist, Jackson Omenazu; Chairman of the United Igbo Elders Council Worldwide in Rivers State, Dr Fyneface Amaechi; an ICT expert, Chuks Okpaka and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in South-south, Chief Igo Okparanma.
Regardless, Sunday Sun gathered many of these big names were yet to declare interest in the job, less than a week to the election.
At the moment, the former police boss seems favoured to emerge victorious following the endorsements he has received so far, including from the Rivers State chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
The seeming snag to Okoro’s bid is the material circulating in the social media, which claimed that he hails from Egbema in Imo State.
Three PG aspirants from Rivers State, Okwukwu, Omenazu and Fyneface Amaechi had in a video intercepted in the social media also alleged that Okiro comes from Imo State. They said that crowning the former police chief president-general was equivalent to still leaving the position in Imo State.
But, a Rivers Igbo chieftain, Rumundaka Wonodi, dismissed their allegation as baseless.
“Okiro is from the same LGA as Dr Odili. Why would his candidacy translate to playing Rivers Igbos out of rotation?
“Ohanaeze presidency is not the opportunity to solve the lingering identity issue: an opportunity to counter the deniers. Let’s not fall into the trap of ‘he is not Rivers enough,’ akin to ‘he’s not Igbo enough,’” Wonodi counseled.
He declared that the candidate just needed to be an upright Igbo man from Rivers State and must not come from a ‘controversial stock.’
According to Wikipedia.org, “Mike Okiro was born on 24 July 1949 in Oguta, Imo State and hails from Egbema in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. He is the Agunechemba 1 of Egbema, and Nigeria’s first ethnic Igbo to assume the post of Police Inspector General.”
His service records clearly indicated that he is from Rivers State.