Ohanaeze Ndigbo set to review it Constitution

OHANAEZE Ndigbo had said that it will review its constitution to accommodate many developments which were not envisaged 20 years ago when the current constitution was enacted.

The National Executive Committee, NEC, of the apex Igbo socio-cultural body has therefore invited memoranda “from all the patriotic Igbo sons, daughters, all the Ohanaeze chapters, Ohanaeze Women Wing, Ohanaeze Youth Wing, Ohanaeze affiliates, traditional rulers, town unions, professional bodies, churches, Igbo Interest groups and other relevant organizations to reach the Secretary of the Ohanaeze Constitution Review Committee, Dr Ezechi Chukwu on a Whatsapp number 0813-2087496”.

A statement by the spokesman, Dr. Alex Chidozie Ogbonnia said that “all the submissions are expected to reach the Secretary on or before December 31, 2023”.

“It is the view of the NEC of Ohanaeze that the Constitution which was last amended in 2003 needs to accommodate various current developments which were not envisaged in 2003, exactly twenty years ago”, Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership explained.

They further explained that “the present Constitution which bears the signatures of Prof. Joe Irukwu, as the Present General; Col. J.O.G. Achuzia, as the Secretary-General and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, as the Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee was a product of a constitutional crisis which took place at Imeobi Ohanaeze held at the Hotel Presidential, Enugu on November 24, 2003.

“To resolve the constitutional impasse, the Imeobi Ohanaeze had to set up a Constitutional Review Committee headed by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu which produced the current constitution”.

The Iwuanyanwu committee presented a report to the Ohanaeze General Assembly at Owerri, Imo State on Sunday, November 30, 2003, which was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly and formed the basis for the election of the National Officers on the same day.

However, “despite the commitment and prudence exhibited by the Iwuanyanwu Committee, there are still some discrepancies and unanticipated dynamics that were not contemplated in the last two decades.

“In other words, it is inconceivable to expect a constitution that was last reviewed twenty years ago to fulfil the expectations of the present realities.

“It is based on the foregoing that the NEC of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide calls for memoranda from all the patriotic Igbo sons, daughters, all the Ohanaeze chapters, Ohanaeze Women Wing, Ohanaeze Youth Wing, Ohanaeze affiliates, Traditional Rulers, Town Unions, professional bodies, Churches, Igbo Interest groups and other relevant organizations to reach the Secretary of the Ohanaeze Constitution Review Committee, Dr Ezechi Chukwu on a Whatsapp number 0813-2087496. All the submissions are expected to reach the Secretary on or before December 31, 2023”, the apex Igbo socio-cultural body said.