The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC) has demanded that Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, retract his recent remarks distinguishing between what he described as “Igbo minorities” and “Igbo majorities” and tender an apology to Ndigbo within 48 hours.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-IDRI-Masterclass.png")
The youth group, in a statement attributed to its National President, Comrade Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, described the governor’s comments as divisive and argued that no Igbo person should be regarded as inferior, superior, minority or majority on account of the state or geographical area in which he or she is indigenous.
The controversy followed remarks made by Uzodimma at an Independence Day banquet, where he questioned the manner in which Igbo representation in the Federal Government was being determined.
Uzodimma had argued that although Nigeria’s three largest ethnic blocs Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba contain minority communities, he believed the Igbo case was being treated differently in the allocation of representation.
“To form Nigeria, there are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Among the Hausa, we have minorities; among the Igbo, we also have minorities, and likewise among the Yoruba,” the governor said.
He continued: “But in the consideration of government today, it is only the Igbos whose minorities are being represented. Why? The Hausa are always represented by a full Hausa, and the Yoruba by a full Yoruba. But in the Igbo case, minorities are claiming to be the majority.”
The governor did not identify the particular communities or government officials he regarded as belonging to the “minority” category in the remarks reported from the event.
Reacting, the OYC rejected the distinction entirely, maintaining that the Igbo identity could not be divided into superior and inferior categories.
“There are no Igbo minorities or Igbo majorities existing in any part of the world. The Igbo race is one. There is no lesser, greater or superior Igbo anywhere,” Igboayaka said.
He accused Uzodimma of introducing ethnic sentiments into what the council regarded as a political disagreement and urged him not to pursue individual political interests in a manner capable of creating divisions among Igbo communities.
According to him, the governor should “desist whipping ethnic sentiments when waging his personal political war, which has no benefit with Igbo collective interest.”
The OYC president broadened his criticism to other Igbo politicians whom he accused of placing personal political calculations above collective interests.
“It’s very unfortunate that many unuseful Igbo politicians are busy making divisive comments to glorify their selfish political interests,” he said.
Igboayaka maintained that an indigenous Igbo person outside the five South-East states should not, on that account, be classified as a lesser Igbo.
“An Igbo indigenous person in Benue, Bayelsa, Rivers, Kogi, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River is not a minority or lesser Igbo to an Igbo indigenous person in Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi, Abia, Enugu, no inferior or superior to Igbo person anywhere,” he said.
“If Yorubas or Hausas have minorities and majority of the same tribe among them, there is no such thing existing among the Igbos.”
The OYC leader also drew an analogy with the Jewish people, arguing that the existence of different tribes among the Israelites did not translate into the classification of some Jews as minority Jews and others as majority Jews.
Beyond the dispute over identity, Igboayaka challenged Uzodimma to place greater attention on infrastructure and economic development in the South-East.
He specifically called on the governor to pursue the development of proposed maritime infrastructure around Ose-Akwa in Ihiala and Ose-Motto in Oguta, rather than, in his words, engaging in rhetoric capable of undermining Igbo unity.
“Gov Hope Uzodimma should wake up and attract the dredging of Ose-Akwa Ihiala and Ose-Motto Ugota natural deep sea in Nigeria that has only 18 nautical miles to Atlantic Ocean, than his poor outing and rhetoric divisive comments against Igbo Unity,” Igboayaka said.
The geographical and technical claims concerning the proposed waterways were made by the OYC leader and have not been independently established in the material reviewed for this report.
He contrasted Uzodimma’s approach with that of Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, pointing to the planned Gateway Deep Sea Port and Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone in Ogun Waterside.
That project is being developed in partnership with DP World. Abiodun announced in late September that construction of the project, estimated at more than $7 billion, would begin following a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for November 2026. President Bola Tinubu witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with DP World MEA FZE in Paris.
For the OYC, the comparison was intended to underscore its argument that South-East political leaders should devote greater political capital to attracting major development projects rather than arguments over who constitutes a “majority” or “minority” Igbo.
Igboayaka consequently gave Uzodimma 48 hours to retract the controversial description and apologise to Ndigbo.
He warned that failure to do so would, in his words, attract “the wrath of Ndi-ichie, Ndi-egede, Ndi-okpu and supreme Almighty God.”
[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
Available now for NGN 40,000 at ASC Publications, 10, Boyle Street, Onikan, Lagos. Beside High Court, TBS. Email publications@ayindesanni.com or WhatsApp +2347056667384. Purchase Link: https://paystack.com/buy/evidence-act-complete-annotation
______________________________________________________________________ “Enhance Legal Practice With Authoritative Reports” — Alexander Payne Offers Comprehensive Law Reports, Spanning Over A Century Of Nigerian Jurisprudence
Interested buyers are encouraged to place their orders and enquiries via:
0704 444 4777, 0704 444 4999, 0818 199 9888
Website: www.alexandernigeria.com
