South East Youths stakeholders have called on the federal government to unproscribe the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, as a terrorist organisation as a way of starting negotiations with people of the region.
The request is contained in the 13 points communiqué issued at the end of their emergency meeting held in Akwa, the capital of Anambra State on Thursday.
The youths also condemned the killing of security agents in the region and the destruction of properties by criminal elements.
They also aligned with the resolutions reached by the 17 Southern governors, calling for a legal framework to implement the resolutions.
*A COMMUNIQUE OF THE SOUTH-EAST YOUTH STAKEHOLDERS EMERGENCY MEETING HELD AT AWKA, ANAMBRA STATE ON THURSDAY, THE 13TH DAY OF MAY, 2021.*
This Communique is an outcome of the expanded Igbo Youth stakeholders comprising of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth, National Youth Council of Nigeria (south-East), Nigerian Youth Congress(South-East), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and other youth leaders of South East extraction.
Having considered the state of the Nation, the increasing state of insecurity, the overall development of the Igbo nation, it is hereby resolved as follows:
1. The heightened insecurity in the South-East which has resulted in the loss of lives of our people, security agents and properties is highly regretted and we deeply commiserate with the families of the bereaved. We therefore call on the South-East Governors to synergize and liaise with the relevant stakeholders especially the youth to arrest the current security challenges in the South East.
2. We condemn in totality the wanton destruction of lives and properties in the South-East and call on the perpetrators of these criminal act to desist from such forthwith and seek for a proper means of airing their grievances.
3. As a step towards genuine peace and reconciliation as championed by Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Federal Government and South-East Governors should as a matter of urgency unproscribe IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) as a terrorist organization. Furthermore we call for the release of all political prisoners of Igbo extraction
4. We call on the South-East Governors to encourage Community Policing by strengthening and digitalizing the local vigilantes.
5. We hereby unequivocally align with the resolution of the Southern Governors and call for necessary legal framework for immediate implementation of the resolution.
6. There is need for quarterly interface between the Governors of the South-East and the Youth stakeholders so that the issues of the zone will be regularly reviewed.
7. We call on the South-East Governors to fully implement the recommendations of the ENDSARS panel report especially on Youth Development.
8. We can call on the South-East Governors to review the Laws of their various State Security Council Committee to include critical youth stakeholders.
9. We call on the South-East Governors to fully implement, support and fund Community Policing Committee as constituted sometime last year.
10. We further call on the South-East Governors to adopt business friendly policies to attract Ndigbo’s investments back home in Ala-Igbo .
11. We urge our Igbo businessmen to consider and invest massively in Ala-Igbo (Aku Ruo Ulo)
12. We reiterate for the sake of fairness, equity and justice that every Political party should zone their Presidential candidate to the South-East.
13) We also unanimously resolve to convene an all important Youth Security Stakeholders Summit to be held soon and to be an annual event to appraise security issues.
