The Colloquium planned for January 5th by some friends of President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, has been postponed because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) second wave lockdown restrictions.
In a joint statement by Ike Abonyi and Alex Ogbonnia, the colloquium Planning Committee and the Conveners apologised to the already invited guests, soliciting their understanding over the postponement due to the “unforeseen situation.”
The statement said that a new date will be communicated in due course.
According to the statement: “Recall that some friends of the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo in appreciation of the awesome job he did in his four year tenure which ends January 2021, decided to convoke a Colloquium to mark his exit.
“The Colloquium was scheduled for Tuesday January, 5, 2021, in Enugu and the former Head of State Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had graciously agreed to Chair the occasion.
“The Notable technocrat from the academia , Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmad was to deliver the keynote address. Obi of Onitsha Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe was to be the father of the Day while the South East Governors are the the Chief hosts.
“The Speeches and interviews by Chief Nwodo as President General of Ohanaeze was compiled into a book and another technocrat and seasoned diplomat, Ambassador Dr. Godknows Ighali was scheduled to review the book whose foreword is written by the former Head of State, General Abdulsami Abubakar.
“Everything was set for the great gathering, invites already distributed when the unforeseen arrived with the partial lockdown announced on Tuesday by the Federal Government following the second wave of COVID-19.
“The conveners have the option of using the webinar but the government specifically banned seminars and conferences and use of event centers.
“After due consultations, they decided to postpone the Colloquium to another day after the lockdown is relaxed.
“We therefore on behalf of the President General of Ohanaeze, wish to apologize to already invited guests and pray that they appreciate the fact that it’s an unforeseen situation. We hope to reach you immediately a new date is decided.”