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Group wants Ohanaeze election shifted as two aspirants withdraw
BY NDUBUISI UWAEZU
A group of concerned Imeobi (inner caucus) members of Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo has called for the postponement of the organisation’s general election slated for tomorrow, January 9, 2021.
This is even as two of the aspirants for the position of President-General of Ohanaeze are said to have pulled out of the race on Saturday. Dr Joe Nwaorgu and Prof Chidi Osuagwu, according to a source, were said to have withdrawn from the contest owing to what was termed “many irregularities and fraud being perpetrated in the electoral process.”
The concerned Imeobi members after a virtual Zoom meeting with aspirants to the various offices, on Wednesday, had written the outgoing President-General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, expressing their worries and subsequently calling for the shifting of the election by two months. They also recommended the use of the electronic voting system in the election.
Some of their concerns include absence of official guidelines for the election, lack of information on venues for elections at all levels, no official statement on nomination forms even after some people had paid and names drawn up for LGA elections that did not hold and absence of official lists of National General Assembly statutory members and those associated with the states, as required by the Ohanaeze constitution.
“Based on the foregoing and the compelling need to achieve fairness, transparency and integrity of the process, it is recommended that all the elections be postponed by two months.
“We live in the technology age; we have smart Hitech Igbo professionals, who have developed voting apps that could be deployed within a few days, to enable our respected elder statesmen to vote from the comfort of their homes, with fool-proof protection of their votes. So, we recommend electronic voting for the elections.
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“For elected delegates, should they choose to vote in person, their voting should be in Owerri, by secret ballot and dropped in random ballot boxes of choice and not State by State. The exercise should be covered live and recorded.
“Ndigbo are one family and should manage their affairs as the needs arise. In this case, we must save ourselves from impending negative consequences about to be inflicted on Ohanaeze and Igbo nation. We therefore, suggest that we invoke the doctrine of necessity and mandate an interim body to manage the affairs of Ohanaeze within the two months period. We are predominantly Christians and should entrust the leadership of Ohanaeze to CAN for two months.
“An Imeobi meeting should be convened via Zoom, to review these submissions and take necessary decisions in the best interest of the Igbo nation.
“What is happening is the biggest threat to the Igbo nation and should not be treated lightly,” the group stated in their resolution to Nwodo.
The letter, copied to the Chairman and Secretary, 2021 Ohanaeze Electoral Committee, listed prominent Igbo leaders from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Delta and Rivers states as the concerned Imeobi members.