When Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor Okpaleke in 2012, lay people and priests of the diocese rejected their new bishop because, unlike his predecessor, Mgr. Victor Chikwe, of the Mbaise ethnicity which makes up the majority of the diocese, he is of the Ibo ethnicity which is strong in the southeast of Nigeria, and the nearby state of Ambra, from which also comes Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect emeritus of the Congregation of Divine Worship. Pope Francis has appointed John O. Onaiyekan apostolic administrator since July 2013.
Ethnic conflict over a Nigerian bishop, the Pope intervenes