INC Intensifies Push for Igbo Language Bill, Raises Alarm Over Falling Birth Rate, Cultural Erosion

The Igbo National Council (INC) Worldwide has intensified its campaign for the passage of the Igbo Language Bill, warning that declining use of the language, falling birth rates and weakening traditional values demand urgent attention.

National President of INC Worldwide, Comrade Chilos Godsent, made the organisation’s position known at a post-event press briefing in Owerri, on Tuesday September 24, 2026 where he called for stronger public, legislative and institutional support for the proposed law.

Godsent said the advocacy would be taken beyond discussions to relevant legislative institutions, while stressing the roles of families, schools, governments and traditional institutions in preserving Igbo language, history and values.

The briefing followed the Igbo Cultural Conference Na Emume Iri Ji Ndi Igbo 2026, organised by INC in collaboration with the Imo State Council for Arts and Culture (ISCAC) on September 12 in Owerri under the theme, “Preserving Igbo Heritage, Promoting Unity, and Advancing Cultural Rebirth.”

The conference communiqué called for advocacy towards legislation promoting the use of Igbo in homes, schools, cultural institutions, media, literature, technology and public cultural activities, while the final report disclosed that INC would constitute a team to engage Houses of Assembly in some Igbo states on the draft bill.

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Stakeholders also expressed concern over declining use of Igbo among younger generations, urging parents and educational authorities to strengthen its use and teaching alongside Igbo history, literature, philosophy and indigenous knowledge.

The conference raised concerns over declining birth rates and their possible demographic consequences, calling for research into fertility, migration, urbanisation, family formation and population distribution. It equally stressed the preservation of values such as hard work, integrity, enterprise, communal responsibility, education and self-reliance.

Participants further advocated the documentation and digitisation of Igbo oral traditions, folklore, festivals, historical sites and indigenous knowledge, including the development of an accessible digital cultural repository.

The gathering reaffirmed the significance of Iri Ji Ndi Igbo and resolved to sustain the cultural conference annually as a platform for research, policy dialogue and the advancement of Igbo heritage.

INC says its next move is to take the campaign to state legislatures, with an advocacy team expected to engage Houses of Assembly on the proposed Igbo Language Bill.