How Chief Sunday Ossai Was Swindled Millions To Be Crowned Factional Ohanaeze President

MICHAEL AKINOLA

P.M.EXPRESS reports according to the summation by the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene. He said that the alleged scam on Chief Ossai started after a group of thugs invaded Ohanaeze Ndigbo General meeting at Calabar Hall in Surulere,  Lagos, reportedly led by Eze Uche Dimgba attempted to disrupt the meeting over the valid consent judgment of the Lagos High Court by the warring parties, which ended the lingering crisis inherited by the current President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State, Chief Aguene, over the years after he was elected.

The group was said to have hired both Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State members and non members and organized a kangaroo election, where Chief Ossai was declared the President of the apex sociocultural group.

While they purportedly conducted the election, they failed to set aside the substantive Court judgement, which declared Chief Solomon Ogbonna as the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State from April 2022 to March 2026. 

While the tenure of Chief Solomon Aguene was yet to elapse, the group went and organized an election and declared Chief Ossai as President after he reportedly parted away with huge sums of money including money for purchase of forms for other aspirants, which ran into millions of Naira. 

It was gathered that after the election, with Chief Ossai being declared as the winner, he was not able to gain access to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Secretariat located at James Robinson Street, Surulere, Lagos. 

Chief Ossai and his executives having been sworn in, later realized that they have no office, from where they would operate and function as the executives of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State.  

It then dawned on them that they had actually goofed and had been swindled by getting involved in the non-existing positions of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State. 

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that Chief Ossai, having realized that there was a valid Court judgment, which extended the tenure of Chief Solomon Aguene, the only option left for him now is to operate as parallel Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos, which many of the traditional rulers and Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State are not comfortable with and have dumped him to his fate.

When Chief Ossai was contacted, his phone rang but he did not pick his call. However, the PRO of his group later issued press statements stating that they have been elected and the Igbo should deal with them as the new executives of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State. 

P.M.EXPRESS reports that through the consent judgment pronounced by the Lagos State High Court dated 12th April, 2022, Chief Solomon Ogbonna will now spend the next four years as the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State. 

In the suit filed in 2018 before the Ikeja High Court over the annulment of Ohanaeze Ndigbo election, Lagos State, by a faction led by Chief Mike Chidedelu on behalf of his group against Chief Solomon Ogbonna’s faction, asking the Court to reinstate and recognized his faction, was finally resolved with terms of settlement as consent judgment before the Court. 

Part of the judgment include, apart from Chief Solomon Ogbonna, who was retained as the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State, other Executive members elected with him were dissolved and fresh election was ordered for the vacant positions by the Court. 

The Court directed that the Electoral Committee set up by Chief Solomon Ogbonna led by Chief Oliver Akubueze be retained and conduct election for both the Local Government and State Executives with the bylaws of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State.

This was confirmed by Chief Solomon Ogbonna, who expressed delight that peace has finally returned to Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State, through his efforts to bring the Igbo together in the State. 
He explained that since he was elected as President, he had been going to Court and many factions came up but he was able to resolve and make peace that led to the consent judgment at  the Court. 
In an interview with Eze Uche Dimgba, he explained that it is impossible to have an extension for an Ohanaeze President because it runs contrary to the group’s constitution.     
 Eze Dimgba said that Ohanaeze legal experts led by Former President, Barrister Fabian Onwughala, have been briefed and had set up the process of vacating what he called the ‘Kangaroo’ Tenure Extension Judgment in Court. Dimgba said Chief Aguene’s tenure will elapse on 15th July 2022.

However, the Court has not set aside the judgment and his tenure is yet to elapse before Dimgba and group were said to have organized an election, where Chief Ossai emerged as President of the faction.