The apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has reiterated its call for restructuring the country and creating additional states in the South-East.

The president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, made the call during the Ohanaeze Ndigbo retreat on Wednesday in Enugu.

Mr Iwuanyanwu, who said Ohanaeze was not happy with the 1999 Constitution as amended, called for restructuring Nigeria, with power devolving from the federal government to the state government.

He said this would help the state have reasonable autonomy to develop at its own pace without any hindrance from the central government.

“It will enable us to build our own seaports, railways and other infrastructure to develop the zone,” he said.

While calling for creating the extra state in the zone, the Igbo Leader lamented that the southeast had lost trillions because of inadequate states like other geopolitical zones.

He threatened to sue the federal government if it failed to give the region an additional state equivalent to other zones in the country, saying, “We are assembling Igbo lawyers to pursue it.”

He added that they would allow the state to go anywhere it was created in Igboland.

The Igbo leader also kicked against merging the Project Development Institute (PRODA) with other Science Institute, stressing that the institute was borne out of the experience of the Civil War.

“Ohanaeze is in full support of the implementation of Oronsaye report but will request all Igbo anywhere to ensure that PRODA is not merged with any other institutions,” he said.

Governor Peter Mbah commended Igbos serving in various capacities for their sacrifice and support.

The governor said the zone needed to work towards economic integration of its businesses and people. He said the economic team in Ohaneze had a huge task of engaging political leaders across the South-East to create a common market that attracted investors to the zone.

“It beats my imagination that Onitsha and Oguta ports in Imo state are not working. We should act in a way to liberate ourselves. 

“Enugu is known for coal and from what I heard from an engineer, if coal is heated 1000 degrees it will melt and if you pour it on the road, will last more than bitumen and asphalt we use in road construction,” he noted.

(NAN)