The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has said that the Igbos will not apologise for the murder of Sir Ahmadu Bello and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa during the 1966 coup.
He dismissed claims by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that he plans on apologising to the Fulani ethnic groups.
The elder statesman insisted that the Igbos had nothing to do with the coup, adding that it was unfair and unjust to accuse them of being responsible.
He declared that Ohanaeze Ndigbo would never apologise for something they did not do.
Iwuanyanwu stated this in Owerri, Imo state, last weekend.
He said, “I was shocked to read a voice mail message which was circulating all over the country and all over the world alleging that we held a meeting in Enugu and that the meeting was poorly attended where the decision was taken that we are going to Sokoto to apologise to the Fulanis over the death of Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa and other Northerners. They abused me and insulted me. I read it and I was sad. I don’t expect that somebody or a Christian will come out and tell a completely false story against me. I never said anything like that.”
He explained that the recent retreat in Enugu was a meeting of committees established for the development of Igboland, and the issue of apologising to the Fulanis was never discussed.
“Igbos didn’t kill anybody or leader but the Igbos were killed. So, as far as Ohaneze Ndigbo is concerned, Igbo did not have any business with that coup, that coup was purely a military affair like other coups that occurred in the country,” he added.
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