THE PLOT AGAINST OGBONNAYA ONU BY IGBO LEADERS

One has observed lately the recent plot filled with blackmail, outright falsehood perpetrated by some Igbo leaders against the First Executive Governor of Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu .

Ever since Dr. Onu was speculated to emerge Secretary to the Government of the Federation in Buhari's administration, these anti Igbo elements have been on the prowl. Like a loose cannon, they have

It was reported in some online platforms that a serving APC Governor in the South East, a serving PDP Governor from Ebonyi State, a former Senate President also Ebonyi State( of PDP extraction) and others went the extra mile to lobby one  of the key leaders of the APC in the South West to aid them convince President Buhari to dump Dr. Onu for the SGF position.

Other methods to tarnish the name and good image of a good man like Dr. Onu before President Buhari were perfected.

Last week, there were several online publications claiming that Dr. Onu has been appointed the SGF when President Buhari has not formally announced who the SGF and other principal officers of his administration are.

Also a fake twitter account was created in Dr. Onu's name claiming he was thanking Buhari for appointing him the SGF.

The motive of those who carried out this nefarious act and blackmail is to portray Dr. Onu before Buhari as a man who cannot keep secret, a trait President Buhari is said to dislike.

Grapevine further has it that in the coming week, agents of these leaders will use the same fake twitter account in Dr. Onu's name to send out false messages.

For purposes of clarity, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu has no twitter account on the social media.  The fake twitter account and the blackmail against him show the depth of desperation exhibited by these Igbo leaders just to pull down one of their own.

One therefore wonder why such a humble and humane man like Dr.Onu will be blackmailed and discredited by those who say they are his kinsmen.

The reasons for this wicked campaign of calumny are not far -fetched.  The truth of the matter is that they are afraid of Dr. Onu's sparkling political profile which has made him the most qualified from the South Easy for the SGF position.

Aside his qualification, Dr. Onu is the only Igbo leader in the South East who has remained consistent and steadfast.   He has resisted political party carpet crossing which is the stock in trade of those who are blackmailing him.

Buhari has even attested to Onu's untainted political career.  He was reported to have  told a delegation of Igbo Delegates Assembly (IDA) who visited him in Abuja after his emergence as President Elect, that  Onu is a man of honour who does not move from party to party.

President Buhari was not mistaken in his assessment of Dr. Onu because he has never leapfrogged from party to party like those blackmailing him.

Onu was a member of then All Peoples Party (APP) which later became All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a party he rose to become its Presidential flag-bearer  in 1999 and later, National Chairman between 2011- 2013.

Onu is also one of the initiators of the merger of opposition parties that gave birth to the All Progressive Congress, (APC.)

As Governor of Abia State for 22 months before the late General Sani Abacha seized power in November 1993, Dr. Onu abolished the State of Origin Syndrome by appointing non Abians into top positions of government.

With a meagre monthly allocation and grappling with the challenges of a newly created State, Onu introduced initiatives and programmes that laid the foundation for the development and growth of Abia State today.

Their political ideology (If any) differs with that of President Buhari in the first place.  One of them, Governor Okorocha of Imo State has a notorious political record of leapfrogging from PDP to AA back to PDP, then to APGA and now in APC!  . President Buhari is advised to be miles away from unsteady and inconsistent leaders from Igboland.

In the same vein, these Igbo leaders who are tarnishing Dr. Onu's image should cease to do so and rather brandish their qualifications for the position of SGF rather than resort to mudslinging and blackmail against this great son of Igboland.

Written by Ifeoma Nwosu Chidera.