The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has stated categorically that he is not an Igbo man.

Wike made this declaration during a media chat in Abuja on Sunday, while addressing questions surrounding the emergence of John Azuta Mbata as the new President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural organization of the Igbo people.

Responding to discussions linking him to the Igbo ethnic group, Wike said, “I’m an Ikwerre man, not an Igbo man. I don’t have a problem with Igbo people.

“Azuta Mbata has the right to associate with anybody. I’m an unrepentant Ikwerre man, and I’m not a member of Ohanaeze.

“I will never, for anything, deny my identity just to be recognised.”

Azuta-Mbata, a former senator who represented Rivers East from 1999 to 2007, succeeded Fidelis Chukwu, whose tenure had ended.

His election marks a historic moment as he hails from Rivers State in South-south Nigeria.