Ohanaeze Forms Committee to Form Igbo Business Leaders Council

February 22, 2024, was the day of the inauguration in Enugu State.

The committee is led by pharmacist, businessman, and industrialist Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR. Prominent Igbo professionals, businesspeople, and entrepreneurs from throughout the world make up its membership.

Chief Iwuanyanwu, who inaugurated the group, gave its members the following instructions: work diligently to create a Council of Igbo Business Leaders.

In order to foster an atmosphere that is conducive to business and draw investment to Igbo land, it is necessary to “create a united and credible voice that will speak for the business community in Igbo land; interacting and liaising with international, national, regional, state authorities and other agencies.”

To make Igbo land competitive with other parts of Nigeria and the world, “actively promote the economic redevelopment of the Igbo nation by motivating and encouraging Igbo businessmen & women to make a conscious and deliberate investment in the homeland (including sponsoring big-ticket joint ventures).”

Honor the businesswomen and businesspeople of Igbo descent who have taken the initiative to build important companies on Igbo land, generating employment opportunities for our people and lowering the rate of poverty and young unemployment in the area.

“Offer Ohanaeze Ndigbo a sustainable source of financial and other support to enable it to meet its ambitious objectives for the protection and well-being of Igbo people and their interests in Nigeria and around the world; additionally, work to establish and maintain a respectable image for Igbo-owned businesses, goods, and services; and lastly, assist in putting an end to all unfair business practices within the Igbo Nation.”

He added that he was confident Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, who previously served as the vice chairman of the Ohanaeze Strategy and Planning Committee, the president of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), the chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Ikeja, and a past presidential candidate in the most recent elections, had the necessary background and experience to guide this team to the successful completion of the aforementioned mandate.

He emphasized that the Council is the one the Igbo people are looking to to steer toward an Igbo Economic Renaissance. He gave his word that he already had excellent lines of communication open with the state governors, who are eager to collaborate with Ohanaeze and the council in order to accomplish the ambitious objectives.

In response to the accusation on behalf of the Committee, Mazi Ohuabunwa expressed gratitude to Chief Iwuanyanwu for deeming him and his associates deserving of being entrusted with such a significant task during this pivotal period in the country’s history.

Chief Iwuanyanwu was commended for his excellent leadership qualities and the tremendous effort he and the other members of the Ohaneze Ndigbo National Executive Council are making to lead Ndigbo responsibly during this difficult time. He also promised that they will work hard and quickly to fill the Council with a variety of outstanding Igbo industrialists, agro-entrepreneurs, and businessmen and women who have already made their mark on Igboland or are currently in the process of doing so in order to fully carry out the mandate, believing in God’s assistance.

Attendees at the inaugural meeting included Dr. Favour Iheanacho, a serial industrialist; Arc Darl Uzu, a real estate developer and promoter of the Enyimba Economic City in ABA; Mr. Frank Nneji, Group MD/CEO of ABC Transport Ltd., who also serves as the Committee’s secretary; Chief Chika Okafor, Group CEO of Chicason Industries; and Chief Johnson Chukwu, Group MD/CEO of Cowry Asset Management ltd. Chukwu is an investment banker, entrepreneur, and nationally recognized economic analyst.

The others are Dr. Chidi Okpaluba, a veterinary surgeon and the CEO of Orange Palm Co. Ltd.; Chief Henry Okolo, a corporate strategist and industrialist who was previously the CEO of Dorman Long Engineering Ltd., UTC Nigeria Ltd., and Inlaks Group; and Chief Chika Okafor, an estate surveyor and valuer. Dr. Okpaluba also serves as the committee’s vice-secretary.

Chief Patrick Chidolue, Executive Chairman of the Chelsea Group and a serial real estate and hospitality investor, Mr. Frank Nweke Jr., a former Federal Republic minister and social innovator, and Chief Leo Stan Eke, Nigeria’s outstanding tech investor (Zinox, computer warehouse, Konga, etc.), were among the members who did not attend the inauguration.