Ben Ezechime, Enugu
Umuada Igbo, an umbrella body of Igbo daughters in the South-East, Delta and Rivers States, has called on South-East state governments to immortalise late President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo World, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.
The President General, Umuada Igbo Nigeria and in Diaspora, Chief Kate Ezeofor, made the call in a speech during the brief stop over of Iwuanyanwu’s remains at the Ohanaeze National Secretariat in Enugu on Saturday.
According to Ezeofor, we are here gathered to pay our last respect to Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, a great son of Igboland who lived and died in the service of his people.
“Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide worked closely with Umuada Igbo Nigeria and in Diaspora.
“We are Umuada Igbo from the seven Igbo speaking States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo as well as Delta and Rivers. Our organisation has ECOSOC status with the United Nations in New York and Geneva, Switzerland.
“As Umuada Igbo, we are making passionate appeals to the governments of South-East States to immortalise Chief Iwuanyanwu in different ways.
“In addition, we ask the Federal Government under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, to immortalise Chief Iwuanyanwu for he was an authentic Nigerian patriot who made innumerable contributions in various sectors,” she said.
Ezeofor said that as mothers, “we are once again appealing to President Tinubu to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. His freedom was one of the unfulfilled dreams of our dear leader, Chief Iwuanyanwu.
“We have no doubt that releasing Nnamdi Kanu at this junction would be a great honour and reprieve for the soul of Chief Iwuanyanwu to have a peaceful response,” she added.
Highlight of the occasion was the symbolic presentations of wrappers for the burial of Iwuanyanwu by Umuada Igbo from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu as well as Delta and Rivers States.
Imo State members of the body would present theirs at the final burial day of Iwuanyanwu in his country home at Ikeduru community in Imo State.
