Aguiyi-Ironsi drums support for Emuchay’s Ohaneze Ndigbo Sec Gen candidacy

The son of Nigeria’s first military head of state, General J.T. U Aguiyi-Ironsi, Ambassador Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi has drummed support for the candidacy of Ambassador Okey Emuchay as the next secretary general of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide.

Speaking in Umuahia, the Abia state capital when Emuchay met with the executive of Ohaneze in the state, Aguiyi-Ironsi said his support for the former Nigerian Envoy to South Africa stemmed from the fact that he dedicated more than half of his life in serving the nation and he did that meritoriously.

Describing Emuchay as a career diplomat par excellence, Aguiyi-Ironsi said, “The greatest problem of Igboman today is survival, but we cannot fight, we have to negotiate and Emuchay is a man with knowledge who will defend Igbo interest, a man of compassion”.

He urged Abia delegates to the Ohaneze Ndigbo election slated for January 10, to vote for Emuchay whom he said was qualified for the post of secretary general.

A chieftain of the organization in Abia, Chief Collins Umezuruike said the state would adopt Emuchay as its candidate for the secretary general post that was zoned to Abia.

Umezuruike said the former career diplomat’s pedigree has made him the toast of every Abia delegate and urged all to vote for him.

Emuchay said he was in the race not only to change the narratives of Ohaneze, but the Igbo nation as a whole.

He said as a career diplomat who worked in different countries of the world before he retired after 31 years, he would use his wide reach to galvanize and encourage the Igbo in the Diaspora to bring their businesses home.

While informing that his immediate task if he is elected would be to ensure that Ohaneze has a befitting secretariat in Enugu, Emuchay promised to interface with other ethnic organizations in the country such as AREWA Consultative Forum, Afenifere, PANDEF among others for the good of the nation.

“I served Nigeria for 31 years in foreign countries, but today, I live in my village of Azumini in Abia State. I now want to serve the Igbo nation so that we can engage the rest of Nigeria. We will sit down with others and talk, we must push for restructuring, the country must be restructured else the consequences will be enormous”.

Emuchay said as a result of his excellent record as a career diplomat, three former Nigerian presidents, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, General Abdulsalam Abubarkar and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan gave him letters of commendation and assured he would not disappoint if elected secretary general of Ohaneze Ndigbo.

Chairman of Ohaneze, Abia chapter, Justice Ajuziogu thanked Emuchay for joining the race, stressing it was good for any team to move with its first eleven.