The apex umbrella body of Ikwerre ethnic, Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide (OICOW), has reaffirmed its ancestral root, declaring that they are not Igbos but purely Rivers people.
While speaking to journalists on Thursday at the Obiri Ikwerre Town Hall in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the President General of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide, Eze Barr. Godspower Onuekwa, made this declaration.
Clarifying this misconception of the ancestry root identification, the organisation said they remain an ethnic nationality and not a subgroup since the history of Nigeria.
Reminiscing over the peaceful coexistence enjoyed by the Ikwerre people, the President General warned against any gathering leading to division for the people of Ikwerre nationality.
Despite sharing cultural and traditional similarities with nearby states, PG-OICOW bemoans the attempt by some Igbo expansionists to incorporate Ikwerre as a subset or subgroup of any other ethnic group in all of Nigeria.
Ikwerre ethnicity is made of four Local Government Areas (LGA), which include Ikwerre (KELGA), Emohua (EMOLGA), Obio/Akpor (OBALGA), and Port Harcourt City (PHALGA).
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The President General of OICOW noted that as an ethnic group, they have not mandated any person or group to speak on their behalf or label them as part of any ethnic group in Nigeria.
Pledging their loyalty to the Federal Government (FG), he said, “We are not part of BIAFRA in any circumstance or its agitators. We are peace-loving and hospitable people and would not want the peaceful disposition to be taken for granted or as a weakness or cowardice.”
Prominent figures present at the conference include distinguished Senator Andrew Uchendu, Prof. Wami Emenike, Chief Stephen Oparantu, Chief Paul Woke Nwonodi, among several others.
In a unified voice, the organisation urges the FG, State Government, and State Police Command to intervene and sanction anyone plotting to cause disunity among the Ikwerre ethnic group.
