…VP of Ohanaeze, in a statement said Ndigbo has been pushed to the wall without any provocation
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide on Monday warned that it would no longer condole the increasing attacks, intimidation, suppression and killings of Igbos in Lagos State.
Vice President of Ohanaeze, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene in a statement said Ndigbo has been pushed to the wall without any provocation and would take necessary measures to protect themselves from targeted attacks, harassment, abuses and threats.
He recalled similar scenario that culminated to last civil war, which he said has started playing out again without Federal and Lagos States’ intervention towards preventing further escalation.
While reminding masterminders of the attacks that nobody had monopoly of violence, Okeke-Ogene urged Ndigbo to remain calm as Ohanaeze leadership was reaching out to federal, Lagos State government and Igbo elites on proactive measures to stop the situation from getting out of hand.
The statement reads, “Ndigbo in Lagos and Rivers states suffered unprecedented attacks, intimidation and threats before, during and after the Presidential and National Assembly elections as well as Governorship and State Assembly elections.
“They were not allowed to exercise their franchise while their sources of livelihood were destroyed resulting to colossal losses running into hundreds of billions of naira even when no Igbo man contested election in the states.
“Meanwhile, politicians of Yoruba extraction who contested and won elections in various parts of the country were embraced with joy and jubilation by people of the area.
“Ndigbo have been in the fore front of development of Lagos State and constitute the highest population of tax payers that drive the economy of the state while many of them are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Ndigbo in Northern parts of Nigeria lived peacefully with their hosts throughout the elections and participated actively in the election processes without apprehension.”
On Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s one year in office anniversary, Ohaneze VP scored the Governor high, saying he has continued to fulfil promises made to the people.
He also commended the Governor for providing conducive environment for peaceful conduct of the state assembly elections and Anambra electorate for participating actively in the exercise.
“He has accelerated pace of developments in various sectors including employment of teachers and health workers as well as embarking on construction of over 261 kilometers of roads,” Okeke-Ogene added.
