The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has hailed the election of Senator John Azuta Mbata, an Ikwerre man, as the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, describing it as a significant development that disproves long-held criticisms about the Igbo identity of the Ikwerre people.
In a statement issued by its leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu, MASSOB emphasized that the election of Mbata exposes decades of alleged systemic falsehood aimed at denying the Igbo heritage of the Ndigbo in Rivers State. The group also pledged continued loyalty to the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo for the collective interests of the Igbo people, irrespective of their location.
Madu stated:
“The emergence of Chief John Azuta Mbata as the new President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo has justified the hidden truth about the founding fathers of Ohaneze Ndigbo. When it was formed in 1976 as the Igbo Union, later renamed Ohaneze Ndigbo in 1979, its foundation was inclusive of all Igbo-speaking communities.
“For decades, systematic falsehoods have been propagated to deny the Igbo identity of the Ndigbo in Rivers State. However, the emergence of Chief Senator John Azuta Mbata, an Ikwerre man, as the newly elected President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo has proved the critics of the Igbo people wrong.”
MASSOB also highlighted the significance of Mbata’s leadership, describing it as a unique opportunity to reaffirm the unity of the Igbo people. Madu added:
“Your leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide is very unique and special because your emergence as President General has exposed the age-old hypocrisy, falsehood, and camouflaged narratives that Ikwerre people are not Igbos.
This development marks a new era of unity and pride for the Igbo identity in Rivers State and beyond.”
The statement underscores MASSOB’s support for Ohaneze Ndigbo’s leadership and its commitment to preserving and promoting the cultural, historical, and political interests of the Igbo people worldwide.
