The apex body of Igbo lawyers in Nigeria, Otu Oka-Iwu, has expressed outrage over the composition of the recently announced Presidential Committee on the 2025 National Population and Housing Census, describing the exclusion of the South-East and South-South regions as a calculated act of marginalisation.
In a statement jointly signed by its President, Okechukwu Unegbu, and Secretary, Ben Ihesiulo, the group condemned the seven-member committee, which, according to them, comprises five members from the South-West and two from the North-Central and North-West, leaving out the entire South-East and South-South zones. “This is not just an omission, it is a deliberate affront to the principles of the federal character, equity, inclusion, and justice enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution,” they lamented.
The group emphasised that the census is not merely a technical exercise, but one that carries significant political, economic, and cultural weight in determining representation, resource allocation, and the direction of national development.
“Excluding an entire region from the committee that will shape and supervise such a crucial national process is a declaration that we do not matter in the affairs of this country. This action is reprehensible and amounts to an insult to the millions of citizens from these zones who have contributed immensely to Nigeria’s development,” Otu Oka-Iwu stated.
The group further described the move as part of a wider pattern of systemic exclusion targeting the Igbo people and their neighbours in the South-South region.
“It is a sad commentary that in 2025, we must still remind the Nigerian state that this country is not the inheritance of any one region or ethnic group. We cannot and will not be spectators in our own country,” they said.
Calling for the immediate reconstitution of the committee to reflect the federal character of Nigeria, the lawyers warned that failure to include qualified representatives from the South-East and South-South would be considered an invitation to civil disobedience.
“If this glaring injustice is not urgently addressed, we will not hesitate to mobilise our people across Igbo land and the South-South to resist and reject any enumeration process conducted under such an exclusionary framework,” the group declared.
Otu Oka-Iwu urged traditional rulers, political leaders, religious groups, civil society organisations, and the international community to take notice of the development and demand a reversal of what they termed a grievous error.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us. The census must reflect that or it will reflect nothing at all,” they said.
