Ndigbo’s support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s perceived second term ambition sparked a disagreement at the Igbo Lecture Series organized by Ohaneze Ndigbo to mark the 2014 Igbo Day celebration in Awka, Anambra State over the weekend.

The characters that traded words on the matter included the National Chairman of the United Peoples’ Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie, the Acting President of the Ijaw National Congress, Charles Ambaiowei and President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Gary Igariwey.

Chief Okorie had in his address at the lecture staged at the Women Development Centre, Awka, which received a loud ovation from the audience, resented the unsolicited endorsement of Jonathan’s re-election bid by the Igbo, stating that endorsing the President without any negotiation or concrete promise to the people of the South-East amounts to sycophancy.

He wondered when and why Ndigbo suddenly lost their bite, to the extent of queuing behind other ethnic nationalities sheepishly without asking questions or seeking to know what they stand to benefit, saying, “When I look around me, I see 1,000 Igbo men who are more qualified than Jonathan, when I look again, I see more than 2,000 Igbo men that are more qualified than Buhari and Atiku put together. So, what are they telling us?