The late Biafra leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, will be buried on February 2, 2012, the South-East Governors Forum said on Sunday.Ojukwu died in London on November 26 at 78.Chairman of the forum, Mr. Peter Obi, said Ojukwus remains would be buried in Nnewi, Anambra State.The Ohaneze Ndigbo urged the Federal Government to accord the former Governor of the Eastern Region the honour he rightly deserves. The All Progressives Grand Alliance has also assured of its participation in the burial ceremonies.The President General of the Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Raph Uwechue, said the body would be happy if Ojukwu was honoured by the Federal Government.Uwechue said, We will be happy if Nigeria takes steps to honour him with a honour that is due to him as a Nigerian leader.He belonged to Ndigbo, he belonged to Nigeria and Africa.APGA spokesman, Iheanacho Oguejiofor, said, There is no way APGA, as a political party, will say they want to bury Ojukwu, even his family cannot bury him alone, Ndigbo cannot do otherwise because he died as a national leader.So many groups are clamouring for his burial even the people in the Diaspora, but I want to assure you that Odimegwu-Ojukwu will be buried by all and sundry.Obi, who is also the Anambra State Governor, said in Enugu, shortly after a meeting of the forum that the states in the region would partake in the burial.He said, All burial ceremonies would commence in Enugu on February 2, 2012 after which the remains would be taken to his country home, Nnewi in Anambra State, for his burial.A committee would be set up soon to discuss further on the burial arrangements.Governors of South-East and South-South states, which made up the former Eastern Region, will participate in the burial plans and subsequently the ceremony, which would take place in Enugu.He stated that the decision to commence the interment ceremonies of the ex-Biafra warlord in Enugu was because the city was the capital of the old Eastern Region.Obi, however, said the South-East governors would ensure that the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, graced the burial.He said, We are going to ensure that President Jonathan attends the burial.Uwechue praised the qualities that Ojukwu represented and said that the support he enjoyed till his last days in Igboland was a measure of the appreciation of leadership he offered the Igbo when he had the opportunity of leading them.Meanwhile, ahead of the burial, the South-East Governors Forum called on the five states in the zone to intensify efforts in tackling security challenges in their areas.The forums emphasis on security, it was learnt, could partly be due to the spate of kidnappings in Imo State since last Wednesday.An Imo State Government official, who did not want his name in print, said the suspected kidnappers were still holding captive four of their victims.Among the kidnap victims are the Chief Medical Director of the General Hospital, Umuguma, Dr. Moses Amako.A statement from Amakos family stated that the suspected kidnappers abducted him on December 1, 2011, on his way to Ohii in Owerri Local Government Area.The statement reads in part, He was in the company of his wife when suddenly a white jeep double crossed his car and they pulled him into their car.The kidnap may have been masterminded by those who succeeded in removing him from his position without due process.Up till now, the captors have not disclosed their identity or made any contact with the family.
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