SOUTH-EAST GOVERNORS AND IGBO LEADERS ASSEMBLE IN ENUGU AND CHOOSE IWUANYANWU AS OHANAEZE PG

On Sunday, the five governors of the South-East states and other zone leaders unanimously adopted and inaugurated Chief Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu, the Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo, as the next President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

The decision was made during a closed-door meeting of Ohanaeze Imeobi members with the governors and other Igbo leaders at Enugu's state-of-the-art Banquet Hall, which was recently constructed by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi's administration. The Banquet Hall is housed within the renovated Old Government Lodge, GRA, Enugu.

Governor Ugwuanyi, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, and the Deputy Governors of Abia, Ebonyi, and Imo states, Rt. Hon. Ude Oko Chukwu, Dr. Kelechi Igwe, and Prof. Placid Njoku, respectively, attended the meeting.

Others were serving and former members of the National Assembly; serving and former ministers and ambassadors; clergymen; Obi of Onitsha, HRM Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe; Chairman, South East Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Amb. Lawrence Agubuzu and other royal fathers; elder statesmen; Presidents of Ohanaeze Ndigbo of South East states; National President, Association of Town Unions, Chief Sir Emeka Diwe and other members of the executive; and Town Union Presidents of the South East states, etc.

Chief Iwuanyanwu praised the Igbo leaders and the entire people of the South East zone in his acceptance speech for considering him worthy to oversee the affairs of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization.

The new President General also specifically praised the South East governors for their support for Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

He promised to do his best, to rise to the occasion, to protect and advance the Igbo cause.

Chief Iwuanyanwu also stated that his term will foster transformation in education, agriculture, industrialization, electricity/power generation, and health, among other areas, urging everyone to work together and support him.

The President General, who stated with delight that "this is the first time I have seen the five governors of the South East coming together to take up and support a course," stated that his emergence is a new dawn in Igbo land because "the governors are united in that project and I am very proud of you."

Chief Iwuanyanwu commended Governor Ugwuanyi for transforming the Old Government Lodge, Enugu, and constructing a befitting Banquet Hall within its premises, where his adoption and inauguration as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo took place.

He regarded the episode as more than just a historical coincidence, but also a tribute to Governor Ugwuanyi's sound vision and commitment to the Igbo people's future.

"This is a new dawn in Igbo land. The governors are united and focused. For example, the Governor of Enugu State, a man that I have always known as a young man; he has done very well as a governor and I am very proud of him.

"Now I am here, this place is a hallowed ground. This place is the former Government Lodge of Eastern Nigeria. This is where our great leader Zik used to stay. Everything about Eastern Nigeria was conceived here.

"Governor Ugwuanyi has re-activated this place. This is a very good coincidence in history that my inauguration and my acceptance are being performed on this ground. From this ground we emerged in 1960 from a relatively low back point to be number one in Nigeria, number one in education, number one in industry, number one in progress, etc," he said.