The former spokesman for President Bola Tinubu’s campaign in the southeast, Dege Josef Onoh, has urged the socio -political organization Igbo Apex IGBO, Ohanaze Ndigbo, to exercise caution and avoid the ethnic window in the current case between the state government of ENUGU and a contractor, Mr. OLASIJIBOMI OGUNDELE.
The dispute revolves around an alleged contractual failure that involves Mr. Ogundele, the executive director of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, who is southwest.
After the controversy, the Ohanaze Ndigbo Worldwide youth council issued a statement that refers to Mr. Ogundele as a “sabotage” and demanded that he return the N5.7 billion involved in the contract to the State Government of Enugu.
Also read: Ohanaze Youths Back The search for EFCC of the CEO of Sujimoto
In its reaction, Onoh advised the IGB group to apply wisdom and restriction, particularly because its mandate does not include supervising criminal affairs or the recovery of funds for state governments.
Although they praised the passion of the youth council for protecting public funds, he urged them to allow due process to take their course and avoid actions that could inflame ethnic tensions, especially with the approach of the political season of 2027.
Onoh emphasized that in any fair society, it is presumed innocent until it is proven guilty in a court of justice.
He said that Mr. Ogundele has assured him of his full cooperation and has already undergone the EFCC in ENUGU, with Onoh escorting him personally.
“The EFCC Ogundele declaration as sought and the continuous interrogation comes from accusations of diversion of funds and money laundering related to the intelligent school contract N5.7 – N11 billion enugu.
“These are serious issues, but they are still under investigation, with their frozen accounts to guarantee compliance. To publicly label it as a” saboteur “or demand an immediate surrender without waiting for a judicial resolution, it runs the risk of prejudging the case and eroding public confidence in our justice system,” Onoh said.
He pointed out that the history of the people of Igbo has taught them the dangers of the hurried trials and the ethnic profile.
“By framing this as an established fact of fraud, we inadvertently contributed to a narrative that could portray the matter as a clash of Yoruba-Igbo, especially given Yoruba’s inheritance of Mr. Ogundele and the context of Enugu State Waters The Waters “,”, “,”, “,”, “,”, “,”.
Onoh clarified that Sujimoto’s issue is far from resolving.
He said he personally brought Mr. Ogundele to the EFCC Zonal command and that he had previously given Governor Peter Mbah his assurance that the contractor would honor the invitation.
He praised Governor MBAH for his true transparency, noting that the governor has initiated a civil lawsuit to recover the funds and ensure that public funds are not lost.
Onoh confirmed that Mr. Ogundele was roasted for hours and has remained cooperative.
He concluded by urging the Ohanaez Youth Council to retract or clarify his statement, emphasizing that his role is to support institutional processes instead of dictating individual guilt.
He stressed that Nigeria’s ethnic failures are a Tinderbox and that all interested parties should climb, not amplify the situation.
“Let justice flow like a river: stagnant, impartial and not contaminated by hurry or bias,” Onoh said.
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