By Chioma Gabriel & Chinedu Adonu
Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has asked the President Muhammadu Buhari regime to send an executive bill to the National Assembly for the immediate creation of additional states and more local governments in the South-East.
In a statement by its spokesman, Chuks Ibegbu, Ohanaeze decried the losses Ndigbo incurred for having the least number of states and local government areas in Nigeria.
According to him, “these losses are unquantifiable. In monetary terms, its more than two trillion Naira annually.
“Everything in Nigeria is shared on the basis of states and local governments and we have the least in this scenario.”
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On why Ndigbo have refused to put their acts together on this matter, Ibegbu noted that “its external forces that create this confusion and division,” adding that “if the Federal Government wants to do the right thing, it would not find an excuse not to do it.”
Ohanaeze noted that past national and constitutional conferences accepted that Ndigbo are structurally marginalised in Nigeria in terms of states and local governments.
“Do you know what we miss by having the least number of local governments and states in Nigeria?
“Whether recruitment into the Army, admission in higher institutions, employment in the public service, etc, Igbo are the least,” Ohanaeze pointed out.
Meanwhile, a political pressure group, the Igbo Peoples Congress, IPC, has reeled out what it considered to be the Igbo charter of demand from the Federal Government before the expiration of the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the Secretary-General of IPC, Obisike Chidi, this included the creation of additional states and local government areas; citing of more federal industries and agencies in the South-East; dualisation of East-Makurdi and East-Lokoja federal highways; construction of East-North rail line; East-West rail line and coastal rail line; Inland Ports at Akwette, Azumini, Oseakwa and Dry Ports at Aba, Nsukka and Afikpo.
