Ohanaeze Ndigbo has distanced itself from the story making the rounds that it was working to restore Governor Rochas Okorocha’s certificate of return as Senator-elect, which was denied him by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

In a statement in Enugu yesterday by the Media Adviser to President-General of the apex Igbo body, Chief Emeka Attama, the group said that whereas it protects collective Igbo interests, it would not descend to bargaining for personal issues such as in Okorocha’s quagmire.

Attama said: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo emphatically dissociates itself from the said story, which did not emanate from the body.

“While Ohanaeze Ndigbo will always speak out on matters concerning Ndigbo generally, it will not allow itself to be dragged into partisan politics concerning individuals.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo frowns seriously at the tendency of some of its officials or mischievous elements using the name of the body to issue unwarranted statements purporting them to emerge from the apex Igbo cultural organisation.”

He said statements not emanating from the President General, National Publicity Secretary, his Deputy or the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President-General of the organisation on any issue should not be reckoned with by either the press or the public.

It recalled the issue of a recent statement from the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos, saying the body was looking into the matter.

“Ohanaeze is at the moment looking into a statement credited to its Lagos State Chapter President and will not hesitate to discipline any state president or official who issues any statement without authorisation,” Attama stated. (Vanguard)