The apex socio-cultural organisation in Igbo land, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has commended the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, for his visible, tangible and impactful performance in the last eight months he assumed office.
The Ohanaeze endorsement of Governor Otti came through its President General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, who led the organisation’s executives on a working visit to the Governor in his country home, Nvosi in Isialangwa South Local Government Area, on Tuesday, chief press secretary to the Governor, Kazie Uko said in a statement.
“We are interested in knowing how people we put in power are doing. I have come here today, I have given a comprehensive report of all I have done as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
“I have also confirmed all the information. I had sent people into the field, I have field officers, who go about and report to me. They have given to me a very excellent report on the performance of the Abia State Governor, His Excellency Alex Otti. They gave me excellent report, in fact, he is classified ‘A’ in our classifications.
“I have come here today, I have discussed with him and I have confirmed that everything reported to me about his efforts, achievements since he was sworn in on 29th of May 2023, is true. All I can say here, on behalf of the Igbos all over the world, as their leader, I’m telling him congratulations,” Chief Iwuanyanwu told journalists who spoke with him after his meeting with the Governor.
The renowned Igbo leader described Governor Otti as a “good son” of Igbo Land, declaring, “We are proud of him”, and encouraged him to keep up with the good work he is doing as Governor of Abia State.
Earlier during his meeting with Governor Otti, Chief Iwuanyanwu took time to bring the Governor up to speed with what Ohanaeze, under his leadership, had been doing to unite and develop Igbo land economically, educationally, culturally, politically, and in various other ways.
Chief Iwuanyanwu informed Governor Otti that although the group had supported the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, in the last general election, because it felt that zoning favoured the Igbos to produce the next president, but with the declaration of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the election, Ohanaeze had already written the president, pledging the support of the Igbos to this government, in order to unite and develop Nigeria.
Governor Otti thanked the Ohanaeze leadership for finding time to visit with him. He commended them for the good work they are doing in preserving the interest of Ndigbo in Nigeria.
He told the Igbo leaders that he had since, especially after the elections and subsequent legal battles where he triumphed over his opponents, moved on, and fully focused on providing good governance to the people of Abia State. He consequently advised that it would be wise for all to support the central and state governments to fix Nigeria.
The Governor thanked Chief Iwuanyanwu specifically for accepting to serve Ndigbo at the level of Ohanaeze, while also commending him for the energy and intellect he had brought to bear on his leadership of the group.
He promised that the Abia State Government would support the pan-Igbo group and its leadership in the discharge of their duties, just like he had done in the past as a private citizen.
Other Executive members of the Ohanaeze, who joined Chief Iwuanyanwu on the visit to Governor Otti, were Dr. Kingsley Dozie Lawrence, Vice President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; Chief Okeke Afam Ogene, Vice President General (Anambra) Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; Amb. Okey Emuchey, MFR, Secretary General Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; Dr. Alex Chiedozie Ogbonna, National Publicity Secretary, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; and Okey Paul Nwankwo, President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Abia State.