The member of the House of Representatives representing Ideato North and South, Ikenga Ugochinyere, has accused the governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, of fuelling the crisis that is ongoing in the South-East.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Ikenga Ugochinyere said that although some South-Eastern governors were advocating for the end of the Sit-At-Home order, he believed that some other governors were in support of the chaos.
Ugochinyere said, “Some of the governors in the South East enjoying the crisis. Some governors like the confusion because, possibly, they are benefitting in this atmosphere of insecurity and feeling of being unsafe by our people. And some of them, let me say boldly without mincing any words, recruited vigilante groups from neighbouring states into their state security architecture, and then what you see is that the same security vigilante people they recruited turned to be unknown gunmen, also, part of the problem.”
“Of course, the governor of Imo State, the vigilante he is running, is a political outfit that is going after his political opponents. Houses are being burned; people are being killed left, right, and centre… I am saying he is fuelling the crisis, and I have evidence to back that.”
Ugochinyere then said that the Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo would be holding a meeting to bring up solutions for the insecurity and economic issues in the South East.
He said, “Lawmakers in the South East are working together, especially at the House of Representatives, where we have started meeting on how to form a common position in tackling all these challenges.”
He then said that the meeting would contain discussions on promoting inclusion, security and economic growth to maintain a sense of peace and progress in the South East.
Speaking about meeting with Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ask for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the representative said, “I think that meeting Tinubu is significant. Our governors, our lawmakers, captains of industry and businessmen and all the different socio-cultural interest groups, it’s very, very important, I agree to that.”
He said that it would be a follow-up to Mbazulike Amaechi’s visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari during his administration, where he advocated for Nnamdi Kanu’s release.
“This visit is also important for other areas that need to be sorted out before you go into the full discussion of letting him go home. Because it’s not just letting him go home, other conversations will also be discussed.”
When Ugochinyere asked how to solve the issues in the South-East, he said, “The things that led to the agitation was the issues of marginalization, the issue of unfair treatment, was the issue of lack of integration and full acceptance. And the issues that led to the insecurity were all rooted in equity, fairness and justice.
“So, to solve the problem, we must now say, okay, how do we build bridges of unity? How do we have a Nigeria where every part will feel included? That inclusiveness is essential because the feeling of exclusion is fuelling the agitation. The sense of exclusion fuels the belief that separation is the only way to have a solution.”
