Tell youths to vote on Saturday against the sit-at-home order
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
South East elders under the auspices of Igbo Patriotic Forum (IPF) have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to provide logistical support for the reopening of police stations closed for the past three years, in the region
Chairman of the Forum, Simon Okeke, at a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, noted that the closure of police posts has created a vacuum in which bandits take advantage to unleash mayhem.
“With particular reference to South East, we wish to use this occasion to make a passionate appeal to Mr President to give all the necessary budgetary and logistic support to the Inspector General of Police and his team towards re-opening up as soon as possible, all the Police Stations in the South East region currently closed down for over 3 years now.
“This has led to increased insecurity in that zone, leading to people obeying a senseless sit-at-home out of sheer fear.
“Currently, almost all the DPOs are closed down with their police personnel collapsed into the existing Area Offices in the South East.
“There are no more uniformed police officers or road checks anywhere in all the towns, cities East region, thereby leaving the townspeople at the mercy of the unknown gunmen even with functional police stations all town or state without police is lawlessness.”
The former Chairman of Police Service Commission, decried the outcome of the February 25 poll, stating that exercise was manipulated to favour an unpopular candidate.
He, however, expressed optimism that truth will triumph over what he called ‘naked lies at the judiciary following the outcome of the presidential election.
“From the far North, through the Middle Belt, to down South, from the East to the West of the country, the participation and zeal displayed by the youths and people of this country during the last voting exercise have affirmed that they are tired of the old order and will vote across tribe, religion or creed once a credible team is put forward to the electorate. Once again, we commend you for your resilience and patriotism.
“Unfortunately, our eloquent voice with our votes has been patriotism. mischievously suppressed, distorted, and mutilated and the world was fed with a falsified result which has been formally rejected by both Mr Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party.
“The judicial search for justice will soon begin and by the grace of God, the truth will ultimately triumph over naked lies dished out as being the result of the presidential election,” he said.
Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, he encouraged youths from the South East to come out and vote massively for the party of their choice, against the sit-at-home order.
He said: “We salute also all men and women countrywide who despite the sit-at-home order, responded to our appeal on 21 February to come out en masse and exercise their civic rights.
“We appreciate and admire your courage and determination in damning all threats and coming out to speak eloquently with your votes.
“Civilized people everywhere use their p votes to effect whatever political challenges they want, not with the bullets of the gun.
“You have proved to the world that you are not what your detractors branded you to be. Please keep it up. Let us still do better in the next election (hopefully on the 11th of March 2023).
“Let us once more use our votes to speak yet louder as to who will be our state governors and state assemblymen and women.”