The South-South South-East Development Group (SSSEDG) has faulted reports in the social media that the Obi of Onitsha, Alfred Achebe, travelled to Awka to receive Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Speaking in Awka, the group’s President, Elias Odoemena, said it was mere coincidence that Atiku visited Governor Chukwuma Soludo at about the same time Anambra traditional rulers were having their end of the year meeting with the governor.
“It is mischievous for people to insinuate that the Agbogidi left his throne to visit Atiku. Frankly speaking, it was Governor Soludo who brought in Atiku and his entourage to pay their respect to our revered traditional rulers,” Odoemena said.
According to Odoemena, it was “important for people to understand the sanctity and power that is in the ancient stool and throne of the Obi of Onitsha which does not permit him to go out of his kingdom to receive any visitor be it the American president, king of England or any other world leader.”
He recalled that it was for the sake of the Onitsha tradition that Achebe failed to visit President Muhammadu Buhari in Awka when the president visited the former Governor Willy Obtain.
“Such mischief-makers should have considered that, if Agbogidi, refused to visit a sitting president, what sense will there be in breaching the same custom simply to visit Atiku, a mere presidential candidate.
“Mischief-makers are hereby advised to always conduct researches and have valid references before writing fiction on the revered Obi, else we will take any false write up on him as an attack not only to him, Onitsha but on the whole Ndigbo,” he said.
