Regional & State News
Igbo President: Ogbeh's Denial Face-saving - Ohanaeze
By ThisDay
Jul 5, 2004, 18:26

Less than 24 hours after the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Audu Ogbeh denied working against the interest of Ndigbo to produce Nigeria's president, his accusers have hit back at him describing his denials as a "face saving gesture."

Addressing newsmen in Enugu yesterday President General of Ohanaeze Youth Forum, Comrade Solomon Chucks insisted that Ogbeh never meant well for Ndigbo having betrayed the trust reposed in him.

Said he: "Everybody in Igboland is aware that the leadership of DP actually masterminded the downfall of the Igbo people in PDP politically. If you look at it very well, you will see that the PDP has not been fair to the Igbo. For instance we saw how they carefully removed an Igbo son, Alex Ekwueme, who could easily have emerged the presidential candidate."

Ogbeh had on Saturday told a gathering of South-East PDP leaders and party faithfuls that he was innocent of the allegations made against him by the OYF in an advertorial to the effect that Ogbeh had used his position to scuttle the ambition of an Igbo son to become Nigeria's president in 1999 and 2003.

The youths also alleged that the PDP national chairman was already engaged in clandestine moves to deflate the 2007 presidential project of Ndigbo.

Ogbeh, who was visibly shaken was at pains in absolving himself of the allegations and demanded to know whether the OYC had the blessings of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to which some voices from a section of the hall replied in the negative.

© Copyright 2000 - 2002 by Naijapost News