….Tasks new Ohanaeze Leadership on challenges ahead

By Tony Adibe

Distinguished Senator Victor Umeh , OFR, represents Anambra Central Senatorial District in Nigeria’s Senate. In this less than 10-minutes interview, the lawmaker speaks on the implication of the Southeast Governors’ pledge to , henceforth, fund Ohanaeze Ndigbo; the obvious and urgent challenges which the new Ohanaeze Leadership led by Senator John Azuta-Mbata has to tackle; the exclusion of the Eastern Rail line in Nigeria’s budgets, why he has always supported the IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu right from the onset of his struggle, among other burning issues.

Excerpts:

May we know your view of the pledge by the five Southeast Governors to, henceforth, fund the Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo?

Yes. We don’t want to give room where the Ohanaeze leadership will start complaining of lack of funds again. That was what the late President General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu suffered. That has been what other previous leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo suffered. So, we give them the chance and accept this leadership.
By all means, most of them are credible people….So we will give them full support and when some of them begin to err, we will rise to the occasion, and call them to order; we have the capacity to do so.

People think the pledge of funding by the governors may be a Greek gift. People expressed fear that the governors resolving to fund Ohanaeze henceforth, could be a total hijack of the group by the politicians. What do you think?

No. I don’t think so. The Ohanaeze has been there for everybody all along. And nobody would complain, you know because if people were providing funds, the governors will not be making this assertions; that they are ready to fund Ohanaeze henceforth. It’s just because people have not been coming to contribute to the funding of Ohanaeze. And if that is what will make Ohanaeze to be fully mobilised to do their work, we will accommodate it for now.

But the important thing is that the new leadership will not be under the apron and control of the governors because they are serving the Igbo people. The governors are politicians, you know. And the Igbo issues should not be driven along political lines. So we will like the new leadership to assert themselves, and fight for the protection of the rights of the Igbo people absolutely. Igbo interests shall rank number one in their activities.

What do you think should be the most urgent and important issue the new leadership ought to handle now?

One of the issues they will tackle immediately is to join the clarion call for the release of the detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. If they don’t drive it, then we will not be happy with them.
We have done so much in that regard as Senators. Under the leadership of the senate caucus of the national assembly, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, senators of the Southeast have gone to see the Attorney General of the federation. We had a private meeting with him, requested that he should help us get Nnamdi Kanu released.
Let him file the nolle prosequi and get him off the hook. The courts in Nigeria have pronounced him to be released but they keep going forth and back. There were people who were standing trial for treason then; and nolle prosequi had been filed for them; like Sowore , you know, was standing trial for treason; the nolle prosequi was used in his case, to release him.
Nnamdi Kanu, by all means, was agitating for the rights of his people. He was fighting for the freedom of his people… l want to put it succinctly. He was fighting against the marginalization of Ndigbo. Sadly, the issues he has been fighting against, have not been addressed.
The Igbo people are still facing those challenges today. So, today, if they don’t release him, he remains a prisoner of conscience. There’s no reason to keep him there ( in detention). If they release him, it will help us to crystalize the efforts to solve the problems of security in the southeast zone. We will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. Everybody who kidnaps , says it’s because Nnamdi Kanu is in detention, but I know those criminals are doing business, and use Nnamdi Kanu as an alibi.
If the federal government releases Kanu now, it will be unfashionable for anybody to go and kidnap someone or kill someone, and say release Nnamdi Kanu, because Kanu has been released. So that we pigeonhole our problems towards the criminals that are doing business with killings and kidnapping of people.

During President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Enugu, he had closed door meeting with the Igbo leaders. But sadly, none of the leaders in that meeting ever mentioned the demand for Nnamdi Kanu’s release to Mr. President. That is what insiders revealed. Are you surprised to hear this?

Well, we were not invited to the meeting. So, nobody would know what they discussed inside. But I know that one issue that I have been campaigning seriously against, has been the exclusion of the Eastern Railline from the budget of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I started doing that from 2018 when the federal government borrowed 6Billion Dollars for the Modernization of the Nigerian Railway System!

The Eastern Rail line that runs from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri ought to have been captured in the budget.
I have been fighting against the exclusion of the Southeast in the railway budget since 2018.
The Eastern railway line was not captured in the budget, hence I sponsored a motion, then and the senate agreed that the rail line should be accommodated.

I sponsored a Motion for the Construction of Standard Gauge Rail Line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri on the 23rd of November, 2023 for a Second time. The Motion was Co-Sponsored by 35 other Senators from the Eastern Rail Line Corridor.

My First Motion for its Inclusion was sponsored by me in 2018 during my first Term in the Senate when the FG borrowed 6Billion Dollars for the Modernization of the Nigerian Railway System to Standard Gauge Rail and the Eastern Rail Line was not included.

That rail line runs through the Southeast, you know. And 35 senators co-sponsored the motion with me, and the prayers were put together. And it was communicated to the President. I was surprised that when he sent the budget this year (to Senate), he didn’t include it.

I saw the lapse during the budget debate. And I stood up and said that there was a great omission in that budget; that from the figures I saw it was obvious that that railline wasn’t there, particularly as he has announced two legacy projects: the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway, and the Badagry to Sokoto highway, so I was waiting to hear Port Harcourt to Maiduguri railway line. Mr. President didn’t do it. So I complained bitterly. I said that I hope that omission will not be real. The presiding Senate President, that day said, the budget breakdown hadn’t come out. But I have received the breakdown and the railline is not there. So, we go back.
However, I’m happy that when President Tinubu came to Enugu , somebody raised it with him in the interactive section. And he promised to complete the Eastern railline from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri. That promise is not the way it should be; what we demanded was construction of Standard Gauge Rail.What he has done is rehabilitation of the narrow gauge railline from Port Harcourt to Aba. So, we go back and continue with the struggle that Standard Gauge Rail line should be built here.

Just yesterday (Thursday, 9/01/2025), I saw that the Chinese Development Bank approved the Release of 254 Million Dollars after the Chinese Exim Bank which initially agreed to fund the Project withdrew .

The Money is for Kaduna to Kano Standard Gauge Rail Project which is about 203 Kilometers. The Route is Abuja-Kaduna-Kano-Maradi Rail Line. Abuja-Kaduna has been completed. They are now constructing Kaduna to Kano and then to Maradi. The entire Route is presently under Construction. The 254Million Dollars Loan is for Kaduna to Kano Section!

These are the things we see and we are not happy. These are the things Nnamdi Kanu was agitating for. That is why I have always, from time, supported his struggle because the struggle was against the marginalization of Ndigbo. Do what you do to the others to the Igbos. Govern Nigeria on the basis of equity and fairness.

If you recall when we did the debate on the return to the old national anthem, I supported the return because of the 3rd stanza : ”O God of all creation/Grant this our one request./Help us to build a nation/Where no man is oppressed/And so with peace and plenty/Nigeria may be blessed.” Unfortunately, the Igbos are oppressed in Nigeria. Everybody knows it. Let them (the authorities) open up and give us (Ndigbo) what we are entitled to. We the Igbos are happy to work for Nigeria to prosper. But to treat us this way is not good. It’s just not fair. Ndigbo are being oppressed in Nigeria contrary to what the anthem is saying!

So this Ohanaeze leadership, they are going to face a lot of challenges. And the general elections will also come very soon. If they go into politics and leave fighting for the Igbos, they will fail. They have to be very focused and committed even when what they are saying are not being accepted by the authorities, they must keep saying that because they are representing the Igbo people. And our, Igbo interests should come first before any other consideration.

The presence of police officers was recorded at the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday, as both the embattled National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyawu and Ude Okoye, whom the Court of Appeal declared as the authentic National Secretary of the party is expected to resume work today.

Reports from the PDP National Secretariat said that some form of drama may occur due to the expected presence of both secretaries at the secretariat.
Both Anyawu and Okoye are laying claim to the office of the national secretary of the PDP.

Some supporters of Mr Samuel Anyawu staged a protest at the entrance of PDP HQ on Monday, chanting songs that Mr Anyawu remains the national secretary of the PDP.

Already, there is a minimal presence of police personnel at the PDP HQ, along with some supporters of both Anyway and Okoye.

Amidst the protest, the embattled national secretary drove into the premises and went straight to his office as supporters cheer him on.

Right in his office, Anyawu called for prayers, before responding to a few questions from journalists.

Regarding the court judgement, Anyawu said the matter has been appealed, and is now at the Supreme Court.

Asked about his views regarding the party’s last week position, when it acknowledged Okoye as the National Secretary, he said the briefing by the national publicity secretary was his own opinion.

The ongoing rustle started after Anyanwu contested for the Imo State governorship election, an exercise he lost to the incumbent.

Upon his return to the party, Okoye who held sway while he was away, challenged his right to return to an office he vacated to contest for an election in his state.
The courts ruled in favour of Okoye and lasteek.

The PDP national working committee had acknowledged Okoye as the legally recognised National Secretary of the party, maintaining that the party has a high regard for the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal.

By Tunde Rahman

President Bola Tinubu’s one-day visit to the Southeast, his first of 2025, was not just a routine event. It was laden with symbolisms, from the enthusiastic reception to the subsequent positive comments. The import of this visit, with its many remarkable aspects, was not lost on anyone. While many have spoken favourably and commended the visit, it equally throws up some questions.

Is President Tinubu’s January 4, 2025 visit to Enugu, the old capital of the Southeast region, during which he inaugurated Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s landmark projects and made important pronouncements a new level in his relationship with the Southeast geopolitical zone?

Is the President’s visit across the Niger a game changer and a subtle indicator of what lies ahead between him and the people of the South East?

The Southeast’s posture towards President Tinubu has not been enthusiastic, just as it was with President Muhammadu Buhari. Of course, the results of the 2015, 2019, and 2023 elections reveal the political aloofness of the zone towards the two leaders.

The Southeast was particularly lukewarm towards Tinubu’s presidential aspiration following developments in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election and the results that had arisen from it. In the run-up to the election, the Southeast put all its political eggs in the basket of homeboy Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor, who had broken ranks with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to emerge as the Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate.

The boisterousness of the Obidients –as Peter Obi’s supporters had christened themselves – had somewhat captured the imagination of the Southeast. Any Igbo who sang a different tune in the 2023 election was, more or less, seen as an outcast.

Peter Obi himself did not allow the kind of amity that should prevail. He campaigned based on his Igbo ethnicity and overtly promoted his Christian faith to reap electoral benefits. When the election came, the Igbo voted en masse for him, signposting a strong correlation between region, religion and elections in Nigeria.

As a geopolitical breakdown of the 2023 presidential election results shows, Obi and his LP polled 1,952, 998 votes from the five states of the Southeast, representing a massive 89.62% of the total votes in the region. President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress polled 127,370 votes, a paltry 5.85% of the votes from the area while the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, got 90, 698 votes, amounting to a meagre 4.16%.

Although Obi recorded impressive results outside the Southeast, like winning Lagos, Nasarawa, Edo, Delta, Plateau, Cross River, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, his 2023 presidential challenge was essentially a Southeast affair.

After the election, he and his ethnic supporters remained in their cocoons—or the alternate reality they had built. They acted like Obi had won the poll but denied victory. It seemed that the Obidients would rather not hear the name Asiwaju Tinubu, let alone President Tinubu. This trend continued even after Obi’s petition against President Tinubu’s victory in court failed. Any move of the President was criticised and condemned.

On assumption of office, President Tinubu made overtures to the zone in key appointments such as the appointment of Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, who hails from Enugu, and through key ministerial appointments like those of Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi from Ebonyi State, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Hon. Uche Nnaji, and the first Minister of Trade and Investment, now Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, among others.

Remarkably, when the President reshuffled his cabinet in October last year, he brought in, among others, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, wife of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. She got the portfolio of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. President Tinubu also established the Southeast Development Commission, a significant move to promote and accelerate the region’s development.

A top journalist who is a friend from the Southeast zone and a staunch Obidient who had never masked his dislike for Tinubu said those two appointments were sufficient to forgive President Tinubu’s perceived sins against the Igbo.

It was against that background that President Tinubu accepted Governor Mbah’s invitation to inaugurate some of his projects in the New Year.

At the inauguration of Governor Mbah’s projects and during an interactive session with Southeast leaders, President Tinubu made significant statements that gladdened the hearts of the Igbo.

At the inauguration of the Command and Control Center, the President emphasised the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the Federal Government and the sub-nationals to drive development. (Thisday)