The youth wing of the pan Igbo socio-cultural association, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has demanded an unconditional apology from human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo for dismissing the outrage by Ndigbo over their exclusion in federal appointments as “noise making”.
Keyamo had while defending President Muhammadu Buhari against allegations of deliberate exclusion of the South-East in his political appointments so far, said those criticising the President “are political job seekers”.
He said Ndigbo were the greatest beneficiary of Buhari’s appointments so far, and had no justification to allege marginalisation.
His words: “We the elite should not be moved by this noise and selfish agenda. Imagine a whole ethnic group campaigning for a position! Initially, they said chief of staff, then SGF.
“Now, with all the noise they have been making since May 29, imagine if one person from that region is appointed to that position. That person will then see himself as a champion of his ethnic group and his kinsmen will descend on that office in the area of contracts and gifts.”
Reacting via a press statement by the National President of OYC, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Ohanaeze described Keyamo as “a desperate political sycophant who sees insulting Ndigbo as the fasted way to get the attention of Buhari for consideration for political appointment”.
The OYC said Keyamo only resorted to attack Ndigbo for cheap public notice.
The statement issued Monday in Umuahia, Abia State regretted that ” the likes of Keyamo will shamelessly deny obvious truths for selfish interest and political patronage”.
The statement added that “ordinarily we would not like to join issues with the likes of Keyamo as doing so will dignify him but we only want to warn him against the dangers of fighting a whole tribe.
“It is a pity that a lawyer like Keyamo who should know better has decided to see nothing wrong with the deliberate exclusion of a whole geopolitical zone from the over 30 key political appointments so far made by Buhari since he came on board.”
OYC warned Keyamo to thread with caution over his remarks on issues affecting the Igbo nation.
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