It has come to the notice of many distinguished stakeholders in Igboland that the immediate past President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Lagos chapter, Chief Solomon Aguene has been misleading the public through his assumed consent of court judgement.
It is also on record that Chief Aguene craftly misled the court by giving them wrong information from an assumed case from which the erroneous consent was given.
A seasoned lawyer, Bar. Igwe C. Igwe defined consent judgement as a judgment, the provisions and terms of which are settled and agreed to by the parties to the action and due effect may be given to it by the Court. In any case, there must be a matter in court where two parties have agreed to settle out of court. The terms of settlement will be sought and agreed on before consent is granted by the court.
Speaking further on this, the Founding Director and National Coordinator of Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), Bar. Chinonye Edmund Obiagwu, SAN, said that from the information available to him, Chief Solomon Aguene was not part of the initial case where Chief Nnia Nwodo (the 9th PG of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo) was taken to court by some persons. He may have removed some names and added his to the case he was not part of. According to him, this is manipulation of information. By so doing, he must have misled the court to have obtained such judgement.
According to the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Lagos, High Chief Sunday Ossai, his election as the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Lagos State is never in contention. None of the various contestants went to court neither did Chief Aguene go to court to contest his election. “So why would he seek for consent to settle out of court where there was no case in the first place?” he asked. He should be thinking of how to render the account of his stewardship instead of these wild goose chase.
In one of his press conferences, Chief Aguene alleged that the Ohaneze Ndigbo President, Chief Sunday Ossai could not be elected because he was an Onowu. He also sought for elongation of his tenure after serving for four years. None of these may warrant him to forcefully assume the position of the President of Ohaneze.
It can be noted that when the immediate past President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Late Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu visited Lagos State last year, he endorsed Chief Sunday Ossai as the duly elected President of Ohaneze, Lagos State. He further promised to assign Chief Aguene a post at the national level, all other things being equal.
During a meeting held by the Lagos Chapter of Ohaneze in Surulere, the local government Chairmen of Ohaneze, former contestants in the last election, representative of Eze Ndi Igbo in Lagos and other distinguished stakeholders endorsed Chief Sunday Ossai and promised to work with him towards the success of Igbos in Lagos. The contestants during the last election, Chief Everest Ozonweke, Chief C.F.C. Obih, Apostle Patrick Nwanze and Chief Leo Okafor (Oba Ojoto) have all agreed to move the Ohaneze Ndigbo forward in peace and harmony.
Based on these, Ohaneze Ndigbo Lagos State designed ways of moving forward, setting aside the distractions and crisis triggered by the actions of Chief Solomon Aguene.
It has also been revealed that Chief Aguene, in a desperate desire to hang onto power because of some selfish political interests misled some of his followers that he was endorsed by the Lagos State government. He also claimed to be connected to the powers that be in Igbo States. He made some people to believe that without him, Igbos cannot move forward. He has tried to create confusion where there were none. He is said to have forced some of the Lagos local government chairmen into supporting him. He is also said to have bribed some of these council chairmen of Ohaneze promising to give them more if they support selfish agenda.
Chief Aguene is said to have dubiously and fraudulently staged events to extort money from distinguished Igbo citizens in Lagos and beyond to sustain his selfish interests. These were nipped in the bud. This is why he has been running from pillar to post deceiving people with lies and unfounded issues.
The Ohaneze Ndigbo in Lagos State is planning to hold an Igbo Heritage Celebration Day; a platform to unite all Igbos in Lagos and beyond. The event will bring together Igbo people where they will showcase their culture, tradition, and entrepreneurship to the world. It will also bring peace and harmony between Igbos and other tribes in Lagos. The event has been endorsed by Ndi Eze Igbo in Lagos, Chairmen of Ohaneze Ndigbo in various local governments, heads of religious groups, legal luminaries and captains of industry.
It is unfortunate that despite these high-level endorsement, Chief Solomon Aguene is said to be working against it thereby bringing to ridicule the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization. According to the Organizing Committee Chairman, who is also the President General of Anioma Indigenes, Apostle Patrick Nwanze, “Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene lacks integrity, and his shameless opportunism, and utter disregard for decency makes him a blight on the community he purports to lead. His insecurity is palpable, and his desperation to tarnish the reputation of Ndigbo highlights his own moral decay and political selfish interests. The fact that he would stoop so low as to mislead the court for selfish interests shows the kind of person he is.”
In a statement issued by the secretariat of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Lagos state and signed by the President and Secretary General, Chief Sunday Ossai and Chief Robert Obasi respectively, Igbos were advised to do away with “sabotaging elements, whose illiterate view is not only befuddling but an attempt to put a spoke in the wheel of Igbo people’s progress and to further the creation of confusion while concealing their true intentions.”
Lending his voice to the statement, the Spokesman of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Lagos State, Prince Ubochi U. Ubochi assured all Igbos in Lagos that no matter any threats by Chief Solomon, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State will continue to convene, engage, and execute its constitutionally guaranteed programs. His actions cannot stop the organization from carrying out its lawful duties.
The onus therefore lies on Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene to clearly define the terms of his consent judgement, the people who signed on the terms and what resolutions they have taken when he appears in court.
