An elder Statesman, and a former Chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, has warned against the ceding of any part of Igboland to another zone in the proposed return of Nigeria to regional government.
This is even as the two times commissioner in Abia State has lauded the Supreme Court for it’s judgment on Local Government autonomy.
Chief Ogbonnaya spoke against the backdrop of speculations that in a proposed bill for the return of the country to regional government, Ohaji/Egbema local government in Imo state will be ceded to the South south zone.
The former Commisioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs who said such an offensive proposal amounted to a declaration of war against Ndigbo, added that the said Ohaji/Egbema is an oil producing area, and therefore a life wire for the south east economically.
He said if it was impossible to return the country to the original four regions as was operational before the military intervention in 1966, the safest thing to do was to promote the current six geo political zones to the regions.
“If you recall, it was politics of the civil war that made the Mamman Nasir Boundary Adjustment Commission to even cede some parts of Egbema where former IGP Mike Okiro hails from to Rivers. All those areas are Igboland.”
Ogbonnaya was of the view it would be a grave injustice against Ndigbo for anyone to contemplate balkanizing the South East the more, not even when they are clamouring to be at par with other zones in terms of the number of states.
Ogbonnaya who was a founding member of PDP, urged National Assembly members from the South East to be on the alert to ensure they oppose any attempt to further marginalize Ndigbo in the name of the draft Bill on return to regional government.
He stated that if Nigeria wants to right the wrongs of the past, all Igbo speaking local governments both in Delta, Rivers, and Kogi states should form part of the South East Region.
“In fact, they should push that all Igbo speaking local governments should be part of the South East, just as they proposed that all Yoruba speaking local governments should be in the south west. Anyone proposing that Ohaji/ Egbema should be taken away from us is an enemy of Ndigbo”, he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Ogbonnaya has commended President Bola Tinubu for initiating the court action, which resulted in the Supreme Court landmark judgment granting financial autonomy to the local governments across the country.
He said the judgment will not only strengthen democracy but accelerate development at the grassroots.
He stated that President Tinubu has clearly demonstrated leadership through this approach by saving the local governments from the stranglehold of the governors.
He advised the federal government to take further steps to monitor the enforcement of the court ruling to avert its subversion by the governors.
The elder Statesman said part of the monitoring steps would be to ensure that the third tier of government was democratized as against the current practice of appointment of sole administrators by the governors.
“This judgment can not make meaning if the election into local governments is conducted by state electoral commissions. INEC should take charge of conduct of local government elections”, he advised.
