Biafra agitation has been hijacked – Umahi
The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, who is also the Chairman of the Southeast Governors Forum during the statehouse briefing on security cooperation between the Federal Government and Southeast Governors, stated that the Biafra agitation has been hijacked.
Governor Umahi started off by stating the situation in the South East is a mixture of reality, fake news, and war propaganda.
Asking, Are there rightful agitations in the Southeast? Yes. Has it turned violent? Yes. It’s been hijacked.
Adding that, In the Southeast, we don’t want war, we don’t want to secede, we want to be a part of a fair Nigeria where justice, equity and freedom exist.
Gov Umahi further gave a brief background of the post-1999 situation in the Southeast, from MASSOB to IPOB to ESN.
Shedding more light on the rationale for Ebube Agu security network: “A regional security cooperation based on the vigilantes we have always had, to protect the people.”
Governor Umahi: “I believe in dialogue, and that we can sit down to know and resolve our differences and strengthen our cooperation as a people.”
Governor Umahi also spoke about some of the programmes of his administration in Ebonyi State: Agriculture (‘1 person 1 hectare’ program for public servants; Fertilizer), Transport, Microcredit, Women empowerment, Medical Sciences, Infrastructure, etc
“Everywhere you turn in my state is a construction site. 95% of our construction projects in Ebonyi State are done by direct Labour, so there is no capital flight, most of the money stays in the State.”
Governor Umahi says Ebonyi is developing three (3) industrial Agriculture clusters – comprising land, warehouses, biomass energy supply, factories, and mills (for processing rice, cassava, etc).
Governor Umahi lent his voice on the issue of the Farmers and Herders clash, by saying, “Our law in Ebonyi is that if you attack farmers or herders and destroy their farmlands/cattle, you must pay compensation.”
Speaking on the issues of succession, he stated, “A lot of people have been brainwashed about Biafra; that there will be no elections in the region in 2023. INEC offices are not being burnt in other parts of the country. It’s a terrible mindset for anybody to be doing this. They are criminals.”
Gov Umahi endorsed the ban on open grazing, says it’s the right decision, especially in Southeast which does not have historical grazing routes/reserves. Calling on the Federal Government to do more to enforce implement ranching & business-led models for livestock management
Gov Umahi on roads: We are building roads to ensure that there is no part of Ebonyi State that cannot be accessed from an LGA HQ within 40 minutes. Building roads is an important part of development. And we don’t care which ones are Federal or State roads.
