Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has announced that the Eze Ndigbo title will no longer be used by Igbo leaders living outside the South-East. The group said the new title, Onyendu Ndigbo, will now serve as its official replacement.
The announcement was made on Monday during the induction of diaspora leaders and the inauguration of the first 32 Onyendu Ndigbo leaders in Owerri, Imo State.
The newly inducted leaders were drawn from Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Ghana and other locations.
Ohanaeze said the decision was taken to end the long-running disputes over the use of the Eze Ndigbo title in Nigeria and among Igbo communities abroad.
Chairman of the Committee on the Regularisation of Igbo Diaspora Traditional Title and Leadership, Charles Odunukwe, said anyone leading Igbo people outside their ancestral homeland would now bear the Onyendu title or any other title approved after consultations with the Council of Ndieze and Ime-Obi.
He added that the use of the Eze Igbo or Eze Ndigbo title by diaspora leaders has been officially banned.
During the ceremony, the Chairman of the South-East Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Emmanuel Okeke, formally inducted another group of diaspora leaders as Onyendu Ndigbo.
He said the initiative is aimed at creating a more organised and credible leadership structure for Igbo communities living outside the South-East.
Okeke urged the newly inducted leaders to lead with honesty and integrity. He advised them to avoid corruption and poor leadership, stressing that the position carries great responsibility.
He also thanked the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, led by John Azuka Mbata, for supporting the initiative.
The traditional ruler warned that any Onyendu Ndigbo leader who fails to meet the expected standards of integrity would lose both the title and the certificate issued during the induction.
