The Youth Wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo today passed a vote of no confidence on the leadership of the President General of the apex body, John Azuta-Mbata for alleged uninspiring and uneventful leadership disposition.
They accused Mbata of relegating Igbo youths, stressing that his leadership had failed to meet “all qualities of leadership”, as regards the three organs of the apex Igbo body which they added had not worked since he was inaugurated, reports The Guardian.
“There are three organs of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, which are the Youth wing, Women wing and the Main body. We have made series of efforts to interact with the President General to enable him know our programmes but he has refused to see us. There has not been any meeting to know what we are facing. It is a departure from the former leaderships that have always embraced Igbo youths.
“We are saying no to mediocre leadership and anything that will erode the confidence of Ndigbo in Nigeria,” they said.
They lamented that Mbata, who rode to power “on the hills of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth wing agitations for a constitutionality driven rotational presidency which favoured kits and Kim’s from Rivers State”, could run the organisation as one without constitution
“On this premise, we hereby announce the date of our forthcoming National Executive Committee election of the youth wing, which is slated on the 15 June, 2026”, the youths declared.
In a statement released after their meeting in Enugu, they lamented the country’s insecurity, noting that Nigeria recorded about 2.2 million kidnappings and N22 trillion in ransom payments in just one year.
“This mind blowing data as quoted by the National Bureau of Statistics is a stark reality that Indeed our nation is on the precipice. We beg to ask: are we now running a ransom economy?”, they said.
The statement signed by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Acting National Youth Leader, Wenceslaus Ogbonnia; Secretary, Igbo Youths Leaders Stakeholders, Anyaene Chukwuma; National Secretary of the youth wing, Emmanuel Mbadiugha,among others, requested President Bola Tinubu to grant them audience within 14 working days “to present to him a comprehensive security blueprint, which when implemented will restore the peace, security and overall development of AlaIgbo”.
The statement from the meeting read by the National Publicity Secretary, Chika Art Adiele, also sought the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from prison.
It urged President Tinubu to tamper justice with mercy, saying Kanu’s release would go a long way in proving to naysayers that Indeed he(Tinubu) is a detribalised leader.
The Igbo Youths commended Enugu Governor, Peter Mbah, for his “disruptive and innovative development”, saying it has resorted to the pride of the capital of Eastern heartland, especially with the building and equipment of “over 100 smart schools with the state of the art facilities”.
The youths also stated that it is the turn of Enugu State to produce the next leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths.
Meanwhile, efforts to get Mbata’s reaction to the position of Igbo youths proved abortive. The group’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr Ezechi Chukwu said, “I want to see the publication before granting an interview”.
