Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, on Tuesday, denied reports that it advised Peter Obi to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
Ohanaeze also refuted allegations that it urged northern leaders not to support Obi’s presidential ambition.
The group, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ezechi Chukwu, Ohanaeze described the claims as acts of mischief by “street urchins”.
The statement read, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has been alerted to a misleading report circulating on social media alleging that the apex Igbo body warned Mr. Peter Obi against contesting the 2027 presidential election.
“It also claimed that Ohanaeze cautioned the North against backing his candidacy. We wish to categorically state that such a mischief-driven and misleading statement did not emanate from the dignified apex Igbo body.”
Chukwu noted that the statement was the handiwork of a group he described as “clandestine starving street urchins who parade a phantom, ludicrous brown-envelope Ohanaeze, with POS as their address”.
He stressed that Ohanaeze Ndigbo, under the leadership of credible figures such as Senator John Azuta Mbata (President-General), Prince Okey Nwadinobi (Deputy President-General), and Emeka Sibeudu (Secretary-General), could not have issued such an “ignominious” statement.
The statement added, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo is committed to the wellbeing of the Igbo nation and national development through justice, fairness, and equity.
“We remain non-partisan and have not taken any position on the 2027 presidential election or endorsed any candidate.”
The group urged the media and the public to disregard statements from “incurable mercenaries unconscionably parading the Ohanaeze brand to execute the pecuniary bidding of their political paymasters”.
