The Igbo diaspora kings under the umbrella of the Association of Ndi Eze Ndigbo Na Uzo Ije have rejected the name ‘Onye Ndu Ndigbo’ recommended by the South East traditional rulers.
In a communique after a two-day meeting in Lagos, members noted that the Association of Ndieze Ndigbo in the Diaspora was duly registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission under Part C, CAC/IT/No.21796 on September 12, 2006.
“We strongly believe that our royal fathers back home were misdirected and misinformed about the name to be answered by the group.
“This meeting holds the leadership of South East traditional rulers like the previous ones in high esteem. We do not want to go through the historical contests and previous interventions regarding the name change.
“So, we appeal that they drop their generated name of Oyendu Ndigbo. We remain Eze Ndigbo as contained in our constitution as the supposed new name would not yield the desired reforms intended.”
Moved by the spate of insecurity across the country and its devastating effect on the socio-economic well-being of Nigerians, the Association equally urged President Bola Tinubu to tackle the problem headlong without fear or favour.
The call was part of the communique released after two days meeting in Lagos and signed by Eze Ndigbo, Ondo State and the newly elected President General of the association, Sir Greg Iloerika.
The Igbo group noted the serious effort of President Tinubu towards bringing peace, stability and food security, particularly in the North and called for the release of detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention.
The Communique further stated that the release of Nnamdi Kanu would end the Monday sit-at-home, which has almost crippled the economy of the South East and also put an end to senseless loss of lives in the region.
While responding to questions from the media, Chief John Greg Ezebuadi noted that several well meaning Nigerians like the late Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Edwin Clark and Mbazulile Amaechi at one time or the other in their life time appealed for Kanu’s release. “Sadly, such calls were never respected until they joined their ancestors.
On what Igbo in the Diaspora are doing to protect Ndigbo abroad from Xenophobic attacks, Eze Ndigbo Ghana, Eze Ihenetu said some of the skirmishes between the host country and Ndigbo occur when some of our people fail to respect the laws of their host countries. Eze Ihenetu recalled that some time ago in Ghana, issues of trade dispute resulted in the locking of some shops of Igbo traders in Ghana. He noted that the issue has since been resolved by him and some Igbo leaders in Ghana and Nigeria.