The 2026 Igbo Day celebration has commenced in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, with leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other stakeholders focusing on unity and a strategic development agenda for the South-East.

The two-day programme, hosted by the Abia State Government, opened on Monday at the Michael Okpara Auditorium with a lecture, dinner and panel discussions on the theme, “The Igbo Charter and Development of Alaigbo.”

The event was chaired by veteran journalist and pioneer Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, while Professor Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, Chairman of the Igbo Charter Committee for Strategic Engagement for National Development and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, delivered the keynote address virtually.

In his presentation, Moghalu said the Igbo Charter should remain separate from partisan politics and serve as a non-partisan framework for development based on merit, accountability and measurable targets.

He called for greater emphasis on implementing policies rather than limiting discussions to ideas, while highlighting true federalism, equitable citizenship and devolution of power as important issues for consideration.

Moghalu also identified several priorities for Ndigbo, including promotion of the Igbo language, development of a digital marketplace, stronger engagement with the diaspora, improved security and investment, and a shift from dependence on remittances towards productive investments.

President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, said the Igbo Day celebration was part of efforts to bring together the strength and potential of Ndigbo under a unified development strategy.

He acknowledged the individual achievements, enterprise and resilience of the Igbo people but said these qualities had yet to be fully translated into collective progress.

Azuta-Mbata recalled that the Igbo Charter for Strategic Engagement for National Development was produced by more than 67 Igbo technocrats and business leaders as a framework for engaging with the Nigerian state and the wider international community.

He said the document also proposed measures for protecting Igbo culture, particularly the language, and called for Igbo to be made compulsory in primary and secondary schools across the South-East.

The Ohanaeze leader also called on the Federal Government to pursue a political solution to the case involving Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.

Speaking at the event, Governor Alex Otti said his administration was repositioning Abia’s economy by moving beyond conventional trading towards manufacturing and technology-driven commerce.

Otti said the state’s traditional strength in trading remained important but argued that emerging digital technologies provided an opportunity for Abia businesses to access global markets without relying entirely on physical marketplaces.

He said the transition would require the state to embrace digital commerce and strengthen the skills of young people.

The governor also cited the TechRise Initiative, through which young people in Abia have received digital skills training. He said some beneficiaries were already working remotely from Aba for global technology companies.

Otti maintained that resistance to technological change could leave businesses and communities behind as global commerce increasingly shifts towards digital platforms.

He said his administration was also supporting manufacturing as part of its broader economic strategy, noting that Abia needed to combine its traditional trading base with manufacturing and digital delivery.

On the state’s development, Otti said his administration had spent the past years laying what he described as a solid foundation for Abia’s transformation.

He expressed confidence that the state would continue to make progress, linking the administration’s approach to the 2026 Igbo Day theme, “Njikọ Ka,” meaning “Unity is Supreme.”

The governor also assured Ohanaeze Ndigbo of the state government’s continued support and described the theme as a reflection of the importance of unity despite differences.

Founder of Gregory University Uturu, Professor Gregory Iyke Ibe, who chaired the 2018 Igbo Day Organising Committee in Owerri, Imo State, congratulated the Abia Government on hosting the 2026 edition.

In a goodwill message signed by Rev. Sleek Ogwo, Ibe described the event as an indication of confidence in Abia’s growing profile and its role in Igbo cultural and developmental affairs.

He said hosting the celebration could help strengthen Abia’s position as a cultural meeting point for Ndigbo while promoting the state’s role in the broader development and renaissance of Alaigbo.