The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has pleaded with the people of the South East to sustain peace and guide their youth away from armed struggle against the Nigerian government.
He made the appeal at the funeral of Sir Albert Ikechukwu Nnamani, former Administrative Secretary of the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Area Development Commission, held in Ikem, Enugu State.
In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, Akpabio said development thrives only in an atmosphere of peace and called on Ndigbo to mentor the younger generation appropriately.
“For Ndigbo, I want to plead with you to continue to maintain the peace and watch the youth of today. They don’t understand politics. They don’t understand development. You can only have development in an area of peace.
“A situation where you try to wrestle power and try to assert independence through armed struggle from the Federal Government will fail. State power will always overwhelm you,” Akpabio said.
Assuring that the parliament is ready to legislate for equity in the South East, he said: “We are prepared as a parliament to make the right laws, to dot the i’s and cross the t’s in order for Ndigbo to have, at least, an additional state.
“So that they will also be equal to the other zones of the country. That is the promise we make and we stand by it.”
Akpabio noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration was committed to correcting past wrongs.
“That is why even in terms of appointments, he has done his best to ensure that Ndigbo is not marginalised. But everything you want should be negotiated.
“I’m saying this to underscore the fact that through peaceful means and negotiation, we shall get our right of
place in Nigeria.
“I want this to happen in your lifetime. May we not lose our youth because of wrong politics and wrong advice. May we not lose our youth because of disaffection and people misleading them,” he said.
Lamenting the economic toll of the sit‑at‑home order, Akpabio said: “We need a solid base in Ndigbo land. I am not happy that the economy of Onitsha and Nigeria is affected by the so‑called sit at home. It has affected your economy so badly.
“Ndigbo are known for nothing but enterprise. When we came out from the war, all your accounts were frozen. If you had two million pounds, they gave you three pounds. What will you do with three pounds?”
“But in the South‑South and South East where the Biafra war was fought, there was no reconstruction. They only tried reconciliation and rehabilitation. That reconstruction, was missing.”
He said past Nigerian leaders at the event were uneasy with his remarks. He concluded by stating that it was time for Nigeria to do justice, praying “that justice shall be done to Ndigbo in our lifetime in Jesus Name.”
Paying tribute to the late OMPADEC administrator, Akpabio said: “As administrative secretary of the former OMPADEC, he discharged his duty with dignity and candour and he set the tone for the development of the Niger Delta region.
“Before his ascension into that position, many used to say that so much is being promised the people of the Niger Delta and that all the promises were in the pipeline.
“After a while, our people started breaking the pipelines in order to bring out the Federal Government’s promises. But those things are now things of the past,” the Senate President said.