Apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has said the outlawed separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has no mandate to speak for the people of the South-East region.
Ohanaeze’s remarks followed an inflammatory response by the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) over IPOB’s threat to ban the consumption of beef in the South-East.
Kokomansion recalls that IPOB had on Monday, placed an indefinite ban on the consumption of what it tagged beef from ‘Fulani cattle’ in the South-East.
In a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, the group said the ban would take effect from April 1.
But in response to the threat, the CNG in a statement issued by its spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, called for a total boycott of all businesses operated by Igbos in the Northern part of the country effective April 1st, 2022.
The CNG also warned Northerners against providing any form of support to any political party or movement from the South-East.
While reacting to the angry and ‘inciting’ responses by CNG over IPOB’s threats to ban beef, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Prof George Obiozor, who was a guest on a political programme on Arise TV on Friday evening, cautioned both the CNG and IPOB over inflammatory statements that are capable of throwing the country into another chaotic situation.
Obiozor, who said IPOB’s anger was based on the injustice against Igbos over the years, however maintained that such does not give them the “mandate to speak for the entire people of the South-East.”
“Take it from me and it is the right statement: IPOB doesn’t speak for Igbo and that is the truth.
“To be very candid with you, the IPOB anger is an accumulated anger based on perceived or real injustice against Ndigbo for so long. We understand their anger and the anger of many youths across the country.
“However, the truth of the matter is that they are not mandated to speak for Ndigbo”, Obiozor said.
Speaking on threatening comments by the CNG, Obiozor said, “The Northern groups that are making the statements are unfortunate because we don’t respond when their youths in their youthful exuberance make certain comments like they did before that all Igbo must leave the North.”0
