VON DG to Ekweremadu: Igbos want Additional State, Presidency, Not Restructuring

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Wednesday, May 31st, 2017

From Ignatius Okpara, Enugu

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Director General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has lambasted the Deputy Senate president, chief Ike Ekweremadu over his recent comment on restructuring Nigeria, insisting that the immediate demand of Ndigbo is the creation of additional state in the South East, as well as president of Igbo extraction.

Reacting to the statement of the Deputy Senate President to the effect that, he said “if the dominant views in the public domain are anything to go by, then undoubtedly, the minimum Ndigbo demand of Nigeria is a restructure of the federation.”‎

Okechukwu described Ekweremadu’s statement as a blatant falsehood and sheer minority view of Igbo elite.

He said :”My understanding of majority of Ndigbo minimum demand is creation of Adada State or any other additional state, no matter the name and more local government areas to level us with other zones, which have more senators, federal representatives, and that collect more revenue from the federation account. This is our irreducible minimum demand.

“I am not opposed to restructuring as my definition of restructuring is the creation of at least one additional state and local government areas in the South East, to leverage Ndigbo with other regions as up to now Distinguished Senator Ekweremadu and his elite clan has no exact definition of restructuring.

“Today they talk of regions, which Nigerians voted against in the Abacha, Obasanjo and Jonathan Constitutional Conferences,” Okechukwu said.‎

Reminded that he seemed to be the lonely voice in the wilderness, Okechukwu posited: “How can you classify me as lonely voice in the wilderness, when records are my witness? The Jonathan Constitutional Conference for instance recommended for creation of 18 States, not region.

“I challenge my brother Ekweremadu to show us where he recommended the restructuring he is canvassing today in the senate reports on Construction Review which he severely headed.”

He expressed fears that there were Igbo opportunists who were exploiting the hunger, poverty and gross unemployment to deceive their people, as if hunger, poverty and gross unemployment were located only in the South East.

The VON boss, accused such opportunists of “dishing out vile propaganda to blind our people from the good projects going on, instead of allowing our people to benefit from President Muhammadu Buhari’s silent social revolution, among which is rebuilding of infrastructure, promotion of agriculture and solid minerals.

“Is it not a paradox that these are same people who had every opportunity to fix Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-PH and other federal roads and 2nd Niger Bridge, Enugu Coal but squandered the opportunity are today causing confusion?”

Okechukwu advised the Igbo race thus: “My people let’s think out of the box, strategise broadly, join President Buhari in the social revolution and where necessary source for loan for infrastructure, as our brothers in the South West are doing and prepare for 2023 for a president of Nigeria of Igbo extraction.

According to him, “Adequate infrastructure in my candid opinion will transform our zone to unimaginable proportion and this is a golden opportunity knocking in our door, let the Ekweremadu not deceive or distract us”, Okechukwu told Ndigbo.