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Governors, lawmakers, and representatives from the South East, together with the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, have reached a consensus to send a delegation to President Bola Tinubu, seeking his intervention in tackling the rising insecurity in the zone.
The decision was made during an emergency meeting held on Monday evening at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, with the participation of key stakeholders.
Senator Hope Uzodinma, the Governor of Imo State, who presided over the meeting that spanned more than four hours, emphasised that the region’s primary concern is the persisting insecurity.
His words: ‘We have identified insecurity as the problem of South East for now and it is at the front burner and must be addressed.’
‘The federal government in the past has supported us but we think that the federal government can do more. So among other resolutions, we resolved today to make a representation to the President for his intervention to be able to bring insecurity in the region to an end. So any moment from now, we’ll be putting together an arrangement to visit the president and discuss with him. There are certain things we cannot do very well without the federal government. Security is in the Exclusive List and only the federal government can deploy as appropriate.’
Read also: South-East Govs Move To End Insecurity, Launch Security Outfit
President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, underlined that the five governors of the Southeast, alongside lawmakers from the region, are jointly committed to seeking lasting solutions to the various challenges faced by the people.
He said: ‘Frankly speaking, I am not going to give you the details of what we want to do. The problem of insecurity is one that cannot be solved by the Southeast governors alone. We have resolved that the leadership of Ohanaeze, the governors and lawmakers to get in touch with the President. The problem in South East is too much, is too big for the governors alone. It is a Nigerian problem and the president will give support to the governors.’
Chatting with newsmen, the immediate past Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said: ‘The new President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and members of his cabinet came to meet with us, the governors, National Assembly members, former ministers and stakeholders in the Southeast.’
‘In the main, we were discussing the issue of security of our region. Security and the economy. It is the first maiden visit and we have taken some important resolutions.’
The source, who shared details of the meeting, disclosed that the discussions touched various matters, including the sit-at-home demonstrations, the ongoing imprisonment of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and the self-proclaimed Biafra Prime Minister, Simon Ekpa.
It was determined, based on the information provided by the source, that a delegation would be formed and sent to President Tinubu within the next two weeks, requesting his intervention.
The source stated, ‘The meeting discussed about security in Southeast and everybody agreed that we will now be discussing without political party affiliation in mind and that there is government in place and the government in place should be recognised and supported.’
Adding further details, the source said: ‘The issue of Nnamdi Kanu was discussed and it was agreed that we should draw up a delegation that will go and see President Bola Tinubu on security situation in the Southeast including Nnamdi Kanu and Simon Ekpa within the next two weeks.’
Among the attendees at the meeting, chaired by President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, were Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, and former Anambra State Governor, Senator Chris Ngige.
Joining the aforementioned individuals, former governor Ikedi Ohakim, former Senate President Pius Anyim, Osita Chidoka, Prof. Maurice Iwu, Senators Victor Umeh, Tony Nwoye, Sam Egwu, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Darlington Nwokocha, Dave Umahi, Prof. ABC Nwosu, Ambassador Kema Chikwe, Mrs. Josephine Anenih, and Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo were also present at the meeting.
