POOR GOVERNANCE: Ohanaeze Ndigbo DG, Obizoba, to lead one-million-man match on Enugu Government House

*To demand for accountability on resources from Gov Ogwunyi

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

The Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide, Enugu, has reached the implementation stage of its mobilisation to, in coming days, stage a one-million-man match on the Government House, Enugu.

The reason for the huge show of discomfort is to occupy the seat of government and use it to demand that the state Governor, Chief Lawrence Ifeanyi Ogwunyi, give detailed accounts of what he has done for the over six years that he has spent in offence as, according to the group, there is no evidence of good governance in the state for the period so far.

Although the Enugu State Branch of Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide is core organising body for the action, it is being planned in conjunction with the National Headquarters of the group and will be led by its Director General Strategic Planning and Implementations at the national level, Amb. Tony Chiemelu Obizoba.

The group, in a statement issued Monday night by the DG and copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER, ventilated its dismay that failure of leadership at regional level was rather blamed for the problems militating against the Igbo as a land and as people, instead of them looking outward to other tribes or regions as culprits, like those inflicting insecurity in the land have done.

He said there was no reason for uprising in Igbo Land if not for lack of good governance and said it would start the effort towards correcting the problems by matching Enugu State Government House to demand for accountability, adding that any leader who  is conscious of the fact that he will account to his people would sit up and sit right.

“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide, Enugu State Branch, is not happy that Governor of the state, Chief Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has either performed far below rating level or that he has not performed at all, despite that monies due to the state is never denied it by the Federal Government of Nigeria and that Internally Generated Resources (IGR) of the state never stopped to come.

“As a CAMA-compliant social cultural organisation, recognised by the law of the country to lead and speak for the rights of Igbo people and the development of the land, we have decided at our own level to, in coming days, match on the Government House Enugu, to do no more or less than asking the governor to give account to the good people of the state, what he has done with the money of the Eastern state most populous state since the past over six years he has spent in office.

“We cannot but tell ourselves the bitter truth. Failure of governments at regional level contributed to the uprising we have witnessed, which nearly turned our South East region to war zone but the wisdom of the President and Commander-in-Chief, Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, who ensured that the war against criminal elements, killing security officers, innocent citizens and destroying public infrastructures, did not escalate beyond targets.

“We must tell this bitter truth because, let’s face it, there is no evidence that any other tribe or region has been responsible for our plights except that the resources meant, by law, to improve the lots of our people and land have not been judiciously expended. Although some genuine reasons of demand for equal rights to the Presidency of Nigeria could not be thrown away from the issues around, some Igbo people could not have descended to the doing things that got them declared terrorists by competent court of the country, if those charged with responsibility to make their lives better did not fail.

“We thank God that normalcy is gradually returning to the land but, in order for such problem caused by lack of good governance not to reoccur, particularly in Enugu State, we have decided at this yet another opportunity of correctional stage to match on the Enugu State Government House, Enugu, to ask the governor to tell us what he has done in his over six years in office, if any.

“And if there is nothing that he can account for, we will give him advice based on the need assessment that will guide him on how best to govern the state well, per adventure, this sun in the sky – with his tenure still having two years to go – will be enough to dry washed clothes in a way that will help the governor rediscover himself.

“This match, we are doing and the mobilisation we have already started, in conjunction with the Office of the Director General Strategic Planning and Implementations of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide at the national level, led by the DG, Amb. Tony Chiemelu Obizoba,” the group said.