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Tag: South East

  • IPOB: Saraki faults South-East Govs, Army over proscription

    IPOB: Saraki faults South-East Govs, Army over proscription

    President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, says Nigerian Army’s branding of Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB ) as a terrorist organisation is unconstitutional.

    Also unconstitutional, according to him, is the proscription of the group by the governors of South-East states.

    Saraki, in a 10-point statement on Monday in Abuja, said the pronouncements by the governors and the military did not follow due process.

    Read also: IPOB: Army not under Political Pressure – Buratai

    He said that such declarations would not take effect because the laws had made clear provisions for taking such actions.

    “I am sure the President will do the needful by initiating the right process.

    “This will go a long way in demonstrating to the world that we are a country that operates by laid down process under every circumstance.

    “So, those who have been hammering on this point should maintain their cool,’’ he said.

    While commending the military for their efforts in restoring peace to different parts of the country and sustaining the unity, he urged it to be guided by their training in the face of provocation.

    Read also: IPOB: Opposition’s plot to destabilise Nigeria – Lai Mohammed

    According to Saraki, military training emphasises respect for human rights, even in war situations.

    He added that given the nature of the situation in the South East, the military should have been hesitant in the use of force.

    The president of the senate urged the executive not to over-stretch the military, adding that “we need to protect our military against dissipation of their fighting strength.

    “This means we need to strengthen the police and equip them with the capacity to deal with civil crisis.

    “That is why we in the National Assembly are already reviewing the Police Act and  looking at possibility of enabling other para-military agencies to help curb civil unrest and maintenance of law and order.’’

    He said that the national assembly would embark on a fact-finding investigation aimed at determining what happened during the military exercise in the South-East.

    Saraki said that it was to enable it sift the facts from the fiction and determine who did what, adding that all the facts were not yet known.

    He assured Nigerians that there would be no cover-up, saying that all facts would be laid bare.

    He called for calm and restraint by all Nigerians to provide the right solution to the current problem rather than worsening it.

    The president of the senate further urged the people of the South-East to continue to maintain peace and tranquility and go about their lawful business.

    Read also: Fayose has link with IPOB funding, says Ekiti APC

    He explained that if allowed to continue, the crisis would only expose innocent people to unwarranted danger.

    He commended Nigerians in other parts of the country who had worked to ensure that the crisis did not spread beyond the South-East.

    Saraki called for peace and stability to ensure that Nigerians, irrespective of religion, tribe and creed, remained protected and safe under the law.

    “It is also important that commentators and purveyors of information on all media platforms should be conscious of the need, at all times, to maintain the unity of the country.

    “Therefore, they must refrain from circulating information that has the potential for aggravating the crisis.

    “We should all realise that Nigeria is all we have.

    “It is therefore in our individual and collective interests not to stoke the fire of crisis and fan the embers of discord through the messages we spread.

    “We must all protect and strengthen our country rather than contributing to her collapse and disintegration.

    “We want to remind Nigerians that the reason for constitution review by the National Assembly was to enable us look into issues that are agitating the minds of Nigerians and creating tension among us.

    “We have promised that the exercise will be continuous. We intend to keep that promise by further taking decisions that will strengthen and improve on our structures,’’ he said.

    Saraki assured that the national assembly would on resumption, play its constitutional role by addressing all issues agitating the minds of Nigerians.

    He called on political, religious and traditional leaders to continue to engage with the people on the need to maintain peace.

  • I don’t think there is tension in Nigeria – IG

    I don’t think there is tension in Nigeria – IG

    With two weeks to independence anniversary, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, on Thursday maintained that there is no tension in the country.

    But he said efforts are on to quell the little tension in the South East.

    He spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said “I don’t think there is tension in the country. Which country? This Nigeria? No. Nigeria does not have any tension. At least you are in Abuja you have gone around there is no tension.”

    On the South East, he said, “Obviously one is to deploy policemen across the country, two we are in touch with the states government, trying to mobilize the political leadership to be able to intervene where necessary on how to lessen the tension in the South East.

    He disagreed with the allegations by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike claiming that most crimes committed in Rivers State was committed by members of the Police’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

    Reacting to the allegation, he said “He has right to self expression. You know he is a governor.”

    Asked if he was not denying the the claim, he said “Of course I have to deny that, that is nonsense. I have to deny that.”

    On the picture of policemen displayed to support the governor’s claim, he said “If a policeman was killed will you say he was involved in crime? I think you are mixing two different issues.

    “A policeman was killed in Rivers in connection with this IPOB issue, its different from saying the policemen are involved in crime. You cannot say someone that was attacked and killed is the one involved in crime.

    “Who is the person they were attempting to kidnap?” he queried

    Asked whether Wike was not making any sense, he said “I just want you to read between the lines. If you have leaders making sweeping allegations obviously it does not make sense. I don’t want to comment on it.

    On the purpose of his visit to the Villa, he said “The highlight of the meeting with Vice President is to obviously ensure that our provision of security in the country is intact.

  • South East:We wouldn’t be provoked – Northern Group

    South East:We wouldn’t be provoked – Northern Group

    The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) yesterday in Kano called on northerners to resist any attempt that will lead to unnecessary provocation in carrying out a reprisal attack  on the unfolding event in the South-East.

    Speaking to Reporters at Kano Press Centre over the unpleasant scenario, the spokesman of the Group, Abdul-azeez Suleiman in company of the chairman and co-chairman Aashir Shariff and Shetima Yerima, said that with the prevailing situation, the North and the northerners should remain calm and law-abiding.

    According to him, “in this situation, it is essential that the North and the northerners remain restrained and refuse to be provoked into reprisals which is the ultimate hope of the conflict instigators.

    “As cultured people  with a long history of tolerance and respect for constituted authorities, we call on  northerners to resist the temptation of carrying out reprisals and playing to the gallery.”

    He added that, “northerners in line with their disciplined nature must refuse at this point to be dragged into taking the law in their hands through unnecessary and unproductive confrontation with members of any sectional, ethnic or religious group.

    “We must remain peacefully focused, mutually respectful, trusting and tolerant as we repose confidence in the ability and committed willingness of the Nigerian security agencies to handle the situation as well as protect the lives and properties of every Nigerian anywhere.”

    The Group said that their struggle will continue to remain intellectual based, precautionary and essentially non-violent, pointing out that the agitation for separation and cry for Biafra in the South-East by the agitators supported by politicians in order for them be heard louder shall be resisted.

    The Group further said that they are prepared to, “set out an immediate circuit to all the 19 northern states to prepare and sensitize the northern people on the need for calm and peaceful approach to the various positions and scenarios as regards to the unfolding situation in the country, and enabling the northern people to be less amenable to provocation by deliberate misinformation and incitement campaigns.”

    The Group, however, accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of making the country ungovernable for President Muhammadu Buhari.

    According to them, “the agitations and disturbances that have been ongoing ceaselessly since the coming to power of the Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo administration in 2015, are aimed at rendering the country practically ungovernable, and ushering in of anarchy and instability, thereby occasioning a change of government by whatever means and tactics.

    “The targeting of President Buhari’s administration and singling him for attacks and irrelevant treatment is aimed at causing inter-regional crisis possibly leading to general unrest.”

    They added that, “the resurgence of separatist agitations especially the violent brand by the IPOB and its ilk in the South-East represents a much wider conspiracy to divide Nigeria along ethnic and religious frontlines as well as achieve the balkanization of the North.

    “The current IPOB  brand of agitation is a strategy employed to achieve the results that the coupist of the First Republic failed to realize, namely, increase the weight and relevance of the regions to the detriment and expense of the central government .”

    The Group explained that, “our stand on the current situation in Nigeria is that we will not fall to that instigation to allow a possibly foreigner or a mad man to plunge us into this unnecessary madness

    “We, therefore, dedicate effort in creating the right conditions for peaceful negotiations with other peace-loving groups in every situation on the political dispensation that should emerge now or in the future.”

  • Reps call for caution over military force in South East

    Reps call for caution over military force in South East

    The military has been urged by the South East Caucus in the House  of Representatives to apply caution over what it called the “Show of Force” in the South Eastern part of the country.

    In a statement on Wednesday, signed by the leader of the caucus and Deputy Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Chukwuka Onyema, the lawmakers warned that any operation that frighten, maim or lead to loss of lives of citizens and property, are unjustifiable.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the South East Caucus of the House of Representatives has been drawn to the reported fallout from the ongoing military show of force in the South East, code named Operation Python Dance II.

    “Though without convincing explanations, we were informed that a few days ago, some civilians were shot and wounded as they clashed with soldiers at Afaraukwu Village in Umuahia, yet again we have received report of a military invasion of  the Umuahia NUJ Office where journalists were molested and their equipment destroyed.

    “As a result of the escalating tension, Abia State Governor had to impose a dust to dawn curfew in the commercial town of Aba.

    “While we appreciate the right to discharge core duties of the Nigeria armed forces as spelt out under section 217 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), there is no gainsaying that  internal military operations can only be conducted without doing violence to the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental human rights of citizens.

    “To conduct operations that frighten, maim or lead to loss of lives of citizens and property, are clearly unjustifiable and an offence to our democracy and the rule of law.

    “We therefore call for a de-escalation of “internal military operations” in Abia State and the South East as a whole, while urging our brothers and sisters at home to remain civil and law abiding.

    “We wish to express our support to the reported setting up of a Seven -man Committee by the South East Governors to investigate the causes of the current conflict in Abia State.”

  • Presence of military in south-east tormenting criminal elements, Igbo group says

    A South-east group known as Igbos for Nigeria Movement (INM) has said it is not surpised with the recent criticism by some groups against the deployment of military personnel to the South-east saying the idea of military presence in the region is making life uncomfortable for criminals operating in the region

    The group said there are those whose criminal enterprise are being threatened with the presence of the military and are ready to deploy every tool of blackmail at their disposal to portray the military presence in the region in bad light.

    According to statement by IMN National Co-ordinator, Mazi Ifeanyi Igwe made available to journalists, those who have however been victims of the activities of the criminals are happy with the presence of the military and commended President Buhari for ensuring that.

    He particularly mentioned a recent public statement credited to a coalition of CSOs under the banner of The International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety). Igwe lambasted the CSO, describing their statement as a
    diversionary campaigns of blackmail and distraction of the determination and focus of the FGN to rid our perennially troubled region of violent crimes

    “Firstly, we wish to publicly express our limitless happiness and excitement with the administration of President Muhammedu Buhari for once again remembering to invoke this security alertness, which has proven to be a security tonic to the Southeast region currently under siege by armed and violent criminal gangs who daily plague our lives. We are living witnesses to the upsurge of criminal activities, which consistently plague the region. There is none of us who cannot conscionably attest to the horrific and resentful spate of assassinations, armed robberies, kidnappings/abductions, violent secession agitations and a range of other terrorists acts foisted on us by criminal gangs operating in the region,” he stated

    Igwe said there is no hesitation in asserting that only criminals who have something to hide are gripped by phobia at the presence of the military anywhere in the world.

    According to the INM boss said a similar exercise by the Nigerian Army code named “Operation Python Dance I” at about the same time, under the supervision Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai and his subordinates in 2016, ensured a secured environment for business and the yuletide festivities.

    He stated further, “Therefore, we perceive the second phase of the exercise this month as the continuation with the efforts at cleansing our besieged and assailed communities by ridding them of criminal gangs. We wholeheartedly support this initiative of the FGN, as we pledge out total and unadulterated support as well as co-operation to the success of this mission.

    “We have no doubt that this decision by the Buhari Presidency is not only germane, but has become imperative in the Southeast region, hence we are losing too many precious lives to these heartless and bloodcurdling vampires tormenting our peace, commence and fast-forwarding the dislocation of our social and communal existence so dangerously.

    He said experiences have shown the ferociousness, sophistry of arms and frequency of these violent raids of communities, households or attacks on targeted individuals and worship places or chilling murders of security agents, as overstretching and overwhelming the regular civil security like the Police, DSS, and Civil Defence among others.

    He said, “we dare say, it is extremely uncharitable and belies wisdom for Intersociety to foul the air by resistibly categorizing the current move by the government to secure the Southeast from these hoodlums as a declaration of unwarranted and unprovoked “war” on Igbo nation. And we do not believe they have the license to dictate to the FGN how it handles any insecurity issues.

    “We are prompted to ask, with our gory and painful experiences these past months, what the state governors in the Southeast, who have the Police at their beck and call have achieved in this regard that the CSOs have the temerity to question and erroneously qualify the deployment of soldiers as militarization of the region. We do not believe democratic liberties are anchored vaguely or argued on a blank cheque. The declaration of Intersociety amounts to dancing on the graves of the victims of these criminal gangs and mocking the pains and sorrows of the families of the victims.”

  • Regional integration: South South, South East governors meet Sunday

    GOVERNORS of South South and South East zones will converge at Enugu state on Sunday July 9 to discuss various salient issues affecting the two regions as part of efforts by the governors of the two zones to further deepen regional integration. A statement by Emmanuel Uzor, the Chief Press Secretary to Ebonyi State Governor and Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, Chief David Umahi, said the governors of the two zones are expected to meet and deliberate on issues of regional and national interests.

    He said the meeting which will hold at the Enugu State Government House is expected to bring about the much clamoured unity among the two zones as well as issues of how best to achieve cohesion, peace and tranquility in the two regions. “The Governors of South South and South East under the aegis of South South/South East Governors’ Forum are expected deliberate on various issues of national interests as leaders which includes, peace, security, economic situation in the region as well as how best to harness the rich human and natural resources abundant in the two regions.

    “They are also expected to talk on various issues including interstate crises among the two regions and find a lasting way of ending loss of human lives and property to intermittent outbreak of communal wars arising from boundary disputes between the two regions. “Governor David Umahi, the Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum is indeed in high spirit to welcome his brother governors from the South South region led by the governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency, Udom Emmanuel to the all-important meeting”.

  • Middle Belt backs 12 regional structures for Nigeria

    Middle Belt backs 12 regional structures for Nigeria

    A group of northern leaders under the auspices of the Middle Belt Forum Thursday rose from their meeting in Abuja to propose a 12 regional structure as federating units for the country, resolving to support the restructuring of the Nigerian federation.

    They Middle Belt leaders who discussed key issues such as restructure of the federation, devolution of powers and appropriate revenue formula for the Federating units believe that the new regional structure should be based on the old regional block.

    President of the Forum and former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana said the region is in strong support of allowing Federating units to control their resources and to develop at their own pace.

    They condemned the quit notice given to Nigerians from the South East, describing it as totally unconstitutional and unacceptable, expressing their unalloyed loyalty to the Nigerian federation and therefore not ready to dump the country.

    In a communique at the end of their meeting, the Middle Belt leaders insisted that in the event that other regions decides to quit the union, they would rather remain and retain Abuja as its capital.

    The communique which was read by the National Secretary of the Forum, John Dara, the leaders said they noted that some of the fundamental issues fueling crisis in the country have been adequately resolved at the 2014 National Conference.

    “We strongly support the demand for the restructure of the federation, together with appropriate devolution of powers to the Federating units and a commensurate revenue allocation formula.

    “We urge the Federal Government to take appropriate and urgent steps to ensure full implementation of resolutions and recommendations contained in the conference report as this will promote peace.

    “We denounce in the strongest possible terms, recent calls and threats to Nigerians from the South-East living in the northern states to move back to their areas of Orin. Being free, equal and legitimate citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, such class on South Easterners are totally unconstitutional and unacceptable.

    While maintaining that they would remain in Nigeria, the leaders said that, “in the catastrophic event of other components of Nigeria insisting to be entirely on their own. We resolutely wish to remain and continue to be the Federal Republic of Nigeria with our capital at Abuja, ” the forum said.

    Addressing the meeting earlier, Prof. Gana disagreed with the position of the former National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Col. Ahmadu Ali that the reason the north rejected the report of the 2014 national conference membership was skewed in favour of the south, pointing out that as one of those consulted by the organizers on the modalities, he can vouch that there was deliberate attempt to give the south any edge.

    He said that what happened was that membership at the 2014 conference was equitably distributed across the geopolitical zones but that the organizers decided that they are not going to interfere in the nominees by professional bodies.

    Among the leaders who attended the meeting were Prof. Angela Okatashi, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, Air Commodore Dan Sulieman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, John Dara and Air Comodore Isaac Alpha.

     

  • Nnamdi Kanu not a South East leader of thought- Presidency

    The Presidency on Sunday explained why the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, was not part of the ongoing consultations with leaders of the South East.

    The main reason for his absence is that he was not considered as a leader of thought in the South East region.

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo last week started series of conversation meetings with leaders of thought, politicians, traditional rulers and the clergy over rising ethnic tensions in parts of the country.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, on Sunday, said that the IPOB leader was not invited because the Presidency does not regard him as a leader of thought in the South East.

    According to him, a window of possibility would be opened for Kanu to meet with the Federal Government for discussion should the need arise in the future.

    He said: “Well, the thing is that we were looking for leaders of the people, leaders of thought and we do not see him as a leader of thought in the East.

    “May be opportunity will come at one time or the other for him to be engaged.

    “But so far, what we have done is to look at people who have influence in the communities, whether it is religious, whether it is traditional, whether it is political, social or governance. These are the people we brought in for discussion.” he added

    He also said that the South leaders including Ohanaeze Ndigbo coming to see Osinbajo have neither asked for a referendum on Biafra or secession, saying that they have only complained about marginalization in appointments and harassment by police at road blocks.

    The Special Adviser assured that their concerns are issues that could easily be addressed.

    He said “Nobody has tabled that in all the discussions we have had. Nobody, I can tell you. Ohanaeze came with a prepared document. They never talked about referendum. They never. They never even talked about secession.

    “They made complaints about police harassment at road blocks. They made complaints about losing some key positions, not being appointed into security positions and all those kinds of things.

    “And these are things that can easily be addressed. Nobody canvassed secession at those meetings, nobody canvassed referendum.”

    Ojudu noted that the South East leaders that have met with the Acting President were all in support of one united, peaceful Nigeria.

    He said the federal government would tackle the perceived injustice in parts of the country through equitable distribution of resources and employment creation.

    He added: “So, for us, and that was the conclusion that everybody came to in the consultations we have had that we should all agree that we can live together peacefully. “

    “We should address injustice where we find it and the government should be equitable in the distribution of resources across the country and then, find solution to youth unemployment and the frustration that is confronting most of the young people across this country,” he stated.

  • Towards South-east economic integration

    Anambra State is already in full election swing at a time the four other governors in the South-east are also already oiling their electioneering machines ahead of the 2019 General Elections. With these being the state of affairs in Igboland, it will not be incorrect to assume that the recent buzz about a nascent South-east economic zone is already thawing.

    I am convinced that it is important at this moment to raise strong conversations around this all important development agenda in such a way as to ensure that the governors and political leaders in the South-east realize the need to grow this agenda to an enduring platform, timeless in its ideals and non-political in its objectives.

    When the seed for the South East Economic Summit was sown in December of 2016, commendations went out to the governors in the region for sheathing political swords and looking at one prism for the all-important galvanization of ideas and resources for the development of a region most agree have largely been marginalized in national resource and infrastructure distribution in Nigeria.

    But given the peculiar entrepreneurial nature of the average Igboman, successfully pushing a regional economic union may not be a tough call for the leaders of the region. What is required is nothing else but a collective political will, driven by selfless desire to look beyond the artificial administrative boundaries with a view to building an economic ecosystem with mutually beneficial comparative advantages for the good of not just the South-east but for the rest of the country.

    This is chiefly why it has become unsettling that for some of us, that nothing much has been heard about the plans and propositions of an economic zone with clearly defined agenda, timelines, and targets. If the whole idea of a South-east economic zone is to gather governors and a few political leaders around a table to generate media sound bites, then nothing will be achieved and that is the concern here.

    By now, nearly five months after the initial economic and securities summit, we should have had a functional secretariat; a think-tank populated by economists and business leaders that are not in short supply in the region and, if you wish, several committee engaging the various communities of business people and interests in purposively functional steps towards the bigger picture of a unified economic zone.

    The main challenge the mainland Igbo faces is the magnification of the administrative divides occasioned by states creation. While creation of states was meant to ease administration and bring governance closer to the people, it seems that, unlike in other regions of the country, the imaginary lines and curves separating one state from the other have made Igbos grow further apart, even when they are more homogeneous than the peoples of other regions.

    In fact, the emotional proximity between a man from Ebonyi State and his brother from Anambra State, a distance of less than 150 kilometres is far wider than that between a man from Sokoto and his brother in Maiduguri, a distance of over 1000 kilometres.

    Even the Niger Delta region that has the most heterogeneous nationalities in Nigeria appears to have stronger emotional filial bonds than the average Igbo.

    This was why, when the Enugu State governor agreed to host the South East Economic and Political Summit, everyone was up in applause that the time for a project that will blight the artificial lines that has seen Igbos drifting apart has finally come.

    The beauty of the South-east zone is its interconnectedness with the rest of the country, especially in the business and commercial realms. While the huge market in Onitsha and Nnewi bestows on Anambra as the undisputed commercial capital of the South-east, Enugu State, in addition to being the political capital of the region, is also a major gateway to and from the North Central states of Kogi and Benue and by extension, the entire northern Nigeria. Ebonyi, Imo and Abia states are strongly connected to the at least three Niger Delta states.

    The average man from the South-south (including those in Edo and Delta) would rather do his business in Onitsha than travel the longer distance to Lagos. It is also cheaper (and safer) for nearly all the northern states (save for Kwara) to have their people do business in Aba, Abia State’s commercial centre than travel to Lagos.

    What this means is that the national commercial capital of Lagos will also benefit more by having bulk-breakers in the future commercial centres that could be envisioned and created out of the ongoing conversation on a South-east economic bloc. This would immediately mean a larger market for Lagos and lower cost of doing business (in logistics) for the many that would then not need to travel the often very risky long distances just to make few purchases of stocks in Lagos.

    We cannot discuss the South-east economy without giving ample space for agriculture. Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi states are food baskets capable of feeding this country. The palm-oil potentials of Imo and Abia states are still waiting to be exploited and I will also take time to discuss this and other critical enablers in greater detail in future articles.

    It is important at this time for stakeholders to remind the governors of the South-eastern states that an economic zone for the region must go beyond immediate political capital. Any governor that wants to build signposts of achievements of immediate measurability should not invest in a project such as this. Success in this project is long term, with all the leaders agreeing on targets and propositions with identifiable comparative advantages identified and pursued.

    They must also be willing to commit long term resources, structured in such a way as to make it easy for future leaders to buy in and sustain the drive. For this to happen, there must be a deliberate effort to ensure those driving the project operate outside Government Houses and governors’ offices.

    And they must be professionals carefully selected from diverse fields of economics, commerce, manufacturing, logistics, health, hospitality, academia and the sciences. They must also be proven thinkers and contributors to national development, willing to give their time selflessly for the good of their people.

    Posterity will be kind to those who lay the foundation for this great future today.

     

    • Okuhu, a journalist and public commentator, lives in Lagos

  • South East, South-South move to form coalition ahead of 2019

    Ahead of the 2019 general election, stakeholders from the Southeast and South-South geopolitical zones met on Tuesday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, to brainstorm on how to forge a common front in order to realize the political aspiration of people of the zone.

    The stakeholders maintained that the interest of the two zones can be best served if they close ranks and speak with one voice and consequently vote in block like other zones.

    The stakeholders, who converged under the aegis of the South East/ South South Network (SESSNET), emphasised the need for the zones to come together and fight against further political, social and economic marginalization of their people.

    “If the 11 states in the two zones can come together like the South West, they can become a deciding factor in Nigerian politics and it will go a long way to check the marginalization of the zones,” they said.

    One of the guest speakers at the meeting, Mrs. Aniko Briggs, advocated for complete restructuring that will allow the Niger Delta region have total control of their resources.

    Former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, who highlighted good governance as a solution to the challenges in the region, tasked the political leaders on the need to promote inclusive and accountable governance.

    Obi, who was represented by one of his former commissioners, Prof. Stella Okunna, maintained that the lack of confidence in the leaders by those they govern is one of the reasons for their disconnection with the people.

    “Many people in power today are not giving good governance and that is why they lack the support of their people.

    “Personal communication with the people matters, they must reach out to the grassroots, governors should be willing to sacrifice their personal comfort for those they governed. They should show accountability, responsiveness and obey the rule of law,” the ex-governor said.