According to a statement released on Sunday by Alex Ogbonnia, the national publicity secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the group’s chairman, did not refer to the Yoruba race as political rascals.
Iwuanyanwu made a speech in Anambra during an event to mark one year in office of Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of the state, where he referred to those destroying Igbo properties in Lagos as “political rascals.”
This led to Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-political group, calling on Ohanaeze to warn Iwuanyanwu not to insult the Yoruba race. In response, Ohanaeze stated that its chairman’s speech was twisted by those who wanted to create a rift between the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities.
The statement clarified that Iwuanyanwu is a detribalized Nigerian who would never denigrate the Yoruba race and that he holds the Yorubas in high esteem.