The Chairman, South-East Governors Forum and Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has said that insecurity, unfair treatment of Ndigbo and other anomalies in Nigeria helped fuel agitations in the geopolitical zone.
He stated this on Wednesday when AIG in charge of Zone 9 headquarters, Umuahia, AIG Ene Okon, paid him a courtesy call at the old Government House, Abakaliki.
Umahi said that Ndigbo would like to be treated nicely like any other geopolitical zone of the country.
The Ebonyi governor however emphasised that the generality of Ndigbo do not support secessionist agitations by some “restive youths”.
This is just as he condemned attack on security formations and other public facilities in the zone.
Umahi said, “We do not want to secede as a people, we want to be treated nicely just like other regions and this is a fact.
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“Let me condemn very seriously the killing of security agencies. I have said it severally; burning of police stations. Yesterday INEC two offices in Ezza North and Ebonyi local government and even burning of a filling station that I owned. Before now, two days ago and attempted assassination of the Publicity Secretary of APC.
“Let me say, AIG that the nation Nigeria played into the hands of our restive youths because there were a number of demands they were making; there were agitations about the way the south-east is being treated at the national level and when those are repeated, then our people bought the impression that they are fighting for the welfare of our people.
“They are fighting for our security especially when people are few from this site to be promoted at the national level and are not promoted rightly or wrongly. When we are not giving the opportunity at the security hierarchy of the nation.
“So, the impression here is that we are not welcome here in Nigeria. It has given the Governors a very serious task with regard to this and I am sure security agencies know this because it seems a number of people especially those who are aggrieved with the government are tactically supporting them but we the Governors in south-east believe in one Nigeria where fairness, equity justice and fair play do take place.”