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Elder statesman Dr. Chike Obidigbo has responded to the ongoing controversy surrounding the election of an Ikwerre indigene as the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

There has been a disagreement among some Ikwerre people in Rivers State, who insist they are not part of the Igbo community.

Former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, who hails from the Ikwerre ethnic group, has consistently claimed that he is not an Igbo man. However, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, the current President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and an Ikwerre indigene, recently stated that he would not deny his Igbo heritage due to political reasons.

In a recent interview, Obidigbo explained that before the Biafra civil war, the Igbos occupied much of Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State.

He added, “Rhe Ikwerre’s were part of the Igbo and they never, for one day, denied their Igboness, for one day, they never did.

“Every Ikwerre man knew that he was an Igbo person. Even in the Opobo area, they believe that they are Igbo people, even where this present governor (Sim Fubara) comes from, they believe they are Igbo people and they are Igbo people, they speak Igbo, all of them.

“Wike said he is not Igbo. Then let him go to whatever he wants to belong to. If Mbata accepts that he is Igbo and he is from Ikwerre and Ohanaeze presidency is being rotated across board, that is to say, it is the turn of Rivers to produce the president.

“They are not a minority in Rivers and those of them that believe they are Igbo, believe they are Igbo because they are realistic about their Igboness.

“Those who say they are not Igbo are afraid of something, they are cowards. They are people who believe that if they say they are Igbo, then they might be denied certain benefits that they get. That is not enough reason to deny your own people. It is not enough reason.”

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