Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has refuted claims that it advised former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race or urged northern leaders to withhold support for his candidacy.
In a statement on Tuesday, the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ezechi Chukwu, dismissed the reports as “mischief by street urchins” aimed at misleading the public.
“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,” Chukwu stated.
“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 described the source of the claim as “clandestine starving street urchins who parade a phantom, ludicrous brown-envelope Ohanaeze, with POS as their address.”
He emphasized that the authentic Ohanaeze, led by Senator John Azuta Mbata (President-General), Prince Okey Nwadinobi (Deputy President-General), and Emeka Sibeudu (Secretary-General), would never issue such an “ignominious” statement.
Reiterating its neutrality, Ohanaeze affirmed its commitment to the wellbeing of the Igbo nation and the pursuit of justice, fairness, and equity in national affairs.
“We remain non-partisan and have not taken any position on the 2027 presidential election or endorsed any candidate,” the statement read.
The group urged the public and the media to disregard the false claims, describing their purveyors as “incurable mercenaries unconscionably parading the Ohanaeze brand to execute the pecuniary bidding of their political paymasters.”
