By the time the 2017 national, state and local government elections into the Ohanaeze Ndigbo executives had ended on the ninth of January at No 7, Park Avenue, Enugu (the national headquarters of Ohanaeze Ndigbo), a well-known trado-cultural revivalist-crusader in Arochukwu, Mazi Ogbonnaya Michael Akoma, 57, (of Isimkpu village) had emerged ( as unopposed candidate) the publicity secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Abia state, just as Hon Propa Nwabueze Okoro (of Asaga village) had been elected the chairman of Arochukwu LGA chapter of the apex, pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation alongside other officers who included Hon Ifeanyi Umere (of Ihechiowa), the secretary; Mr Patrick Elechi (of Ututu) who was elected the treasurer, and Elder Nwoabiara Okoro (of Abam) who was elected the financial secretary.
Others elected into Arochukwu council executive included Elder O K Achinivu (an Asst Director of Admin in Abia state NOA) publicity secretary, while Barrister Emeka Ota was elected the organising secretary, just as Arc Sunny Alfred Okoroafor (of Ndi Agor, Obinkita) emerged the welfare Officer, with Mrs Amarachi Jacob Okorie emerging the assistant organising secretary while Mrs Ada Kalu Ndem was elected the woman leader alongside Hon Ejikeme Una who emerged the Ohanaeze Ndigbo youth leader in the LGA.
After his election, Mazi Akoma, a most prolific writer-publicist, and the Arochukwu Bureau Correspondent of Aro News, was subsequently appointed into the thirteen-member Ohanaeze Ndigbo Abia State 2017 Inauguration Committee, which had Chief Ukpai Agwu Ukpai, the Deputy Chief of Staff to Abia state governor as the chairman, while Deacon Ugochukwu Nwokoji, the elected secretary of Abia Ohanaeze Ndigbo, was to serve as the secretary of the committee. Mazi Akoma was later to head the Publicity and Media Sub-committee of the organisation.
It may be recalled that Mazi Ogbonnaya Akoma, also a well-known public affairs commentator in Abia state and a retired director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, had served as the immediate-past chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Arochukwu LGA chapter (between January 2013 and January 2017) before his election into the state executive as the publicity secretary.
As constituted at present, Mazi Akoma is the only man from Arochukwu in the present state executive of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, as each of the five LGAs in Abia North Senatorial zone has one representative in the executive committee.
One of the highlights of this year’s Ohanaeze Ndigbo election was that all the candidates who emerged at the local, state and national levels of the organisation were, for the first time, sponsored by their respective state governments in the seven Igbo-speaking states of the federation – Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers.
No comments