Follow Us on Google
ν Tension grips Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra residents
ν Ohanaeze, monarchs call for caution, say election not do-or-die affair
From Magnus Eze, Enugu And Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Different groups in South-East, including the traditional rulers, elders and some political parties have raised the alarm of plots to cause mayhem in the region ahead the March 18, rescheduled Governorship and House of Assembly polls.
Also, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo said that abominable things were being perpetrated in Igboland in the name of politics.
This is as the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the zone, Ogbonnaya Amadi, disclosed that the police had identified the flashpoints and would deal ruthlessly with any trouble makers.
The South-East Council of Traditional Rulers said they were privy to some rumours circulating in the region that some elements want to apply violence to disturb or disrupt the forthcoming Governorship and State House Assembly Elections.
They stated this in a statement jointly signed by Igwe Lawrence Agubuzu, Chairman, South-East Council of Traditional Rulers and Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers; and Igwe Alfred Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha and Chairman, Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers.
Other signatories were Eze Joseph Nwabeke, Chairman, Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers; and Eze E.C. Okeke, the Eze Udo 2 and Chairman, Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers.
According to the statement, the royal fathers are seriously concerned about this development and would like to appeal to all the political parties to know that elections are not do or die affairs.
It noted that “the beauty of democracy is that people, whether in government or out of government, live in free society”.
The monarchs said that the zone had witnessed unnecessary violence and bloodshed in recent times due to insecurity, and therefore, urged youths in the area to refrain from being used as thugs before, during and after the upcoming elections.
“All the youth, whether indigenous or not in the South-East, should not lend themselves as tools in the hands of political parties for the purpose of causing violence on the election day.
“Political parties should honour the peace accord they signed by ensuring that they do not recruit and arm thugs to disrupt the elections,” they counselled.
The monarchs also urged that “The law enforcement agencies should equally be professional and impartial to promptly and firmly stop or deal with those who try to commit electoral offences.”
Drumbeats of war had been sounding in the southeast states shortly after the Presidential and National Assembly elections where the Labour Party (LP) caused political upset in the zone.
In Enugu, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) in the state has alleged of plot by some individuals to unleash wide-scale violence in the state during the governorship election.
The allegation came on the heels of the accusation by the governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr. Frank Nweke (Jnr.) that the PDP was arming thugs ahead of the polls; an allegation the party vehemently denied.
Chairman of the CUPP in the state, Mr. Ogbonna Festus who addressed newsmen, cautioned against moves by some desperate politicians to turn the state into a theatre of war.
Ogbonna said it was worrisome that a key member of the ruling party had been issuing all manner of threats to Catholic priests in the state. He charged the security agencies to brace up for the challenge ahead.
The group urged the people of Enugu State “not to be intimidated by those who do not mean well for the state.”
The Nsukka Journalists Foundation (NJF) also condemned the atmosphere of violence pervading the northern zone of the state ahead of the governorship poll. Public Relations Officer of NJF, Ikechukwu Jonathan, in a statement called on past and present political, business and traditional leaders in the state to rise in condemnation of attempts and threats to unleash violence and crises on the state, particularly Enugu North zone.
“We are also worried that some of our political actors have taken no lesson from the examples laid down by the incumbent governor of Enugu State, Dr Ifeanyi Lawrence Ugwuanyi, who has presided over the affairs of Enugu State for nearly eight years, with peace and brotherhood as his everyday mantra,” Jonathan stated.
Prior to the period, the LP candidate for Enugu East Senatorial District, Mr. Oyibo Chukwu, was murdered in a brutal manner. Family members have insisted that it was a clear case of political assassination.
In Ebonyi State, the PDP said it had uncovered plot by the APC government to cause mayhem and disrupt the forthcoming Governorship Elections.
A statement by the Director, Media and Publicity of the party’s campaign in Ebonyi, Chief Abia Onyike, alleged that APC leaders and chieftains had boasted that anybody who came out on “Saturday and refuses to vote for their party will be killed. This is a terrible and strange development in the history of elections in Nigeria.”
Onyike who claimed that they had it on good authority that the APC imported thugs known as the “Warriors” from Kogi State, then, alerted the security agencies in the state to forestall the breakdown of law and order “because of the excesses of these political gangsters.”
Speaking on the development, National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia said people thought that the postponement of the governorship poll would douse the tension but unfortunately, that was not the case.
“I have never seen something like this before. In all my partisan politics days, we never had this kind of thing; killing of people is now like the order of the day. People’s reflexes are no longer touched with respect to death and killings and things like that. Things that we considered abomination during our days have become the order of the day now. There are killings in Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra and Imo states. Before the postponement of the election, there was palpable fear but as soon as it was postponed there was a kind of relief. But in spite of the mixed feelings, the fear remains that people have been drumming for war and nobody knows what will be the outcome of war.
“I want the youths to know that after 18th March, there will be life. And that war is like an ill wind that blows no one any good. Ohanaeze is appealing to the youths of the South East to be mindful that we are all brothers, and that killing or hurting one another is not a pre-requisite or a factor in a democracy,” Ogbonnia cautioned.
Similarly, former military administrator of Delta State, Air Commodore Luke Ochulor (rtd) said no amount of violence can solve the country’s problem, instead, it will lead to more bloodshed and other precarious situations. Suing for peace in the zone, Ochulor noted that “it’s still we the ordinary people that will lose our lives. There is no justification for violence.”
