By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Association of Ebonyi State Indigenes in Diaspora (AESID) has condemned in totality statement credited to the Ebonyi state governor, Engr. David Nweze Umahi in which he reportedly vowed to sponsor crisis in opposition parties to make room for a fight while he sips champagne in the comfort of his bedroom.
The governor was said to have reportedly made the statements during his ruling party’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) state congress held recently at the party’s state secretariat in Abakaliki and yet to be refuted.
But while responding to what it considered a crisis threat comments by the governor, the AESID in a statement signed Wednesday in Abuja by its president (World-wide) Ambassador Paschal Oluchukwu, urged the Inspector General of Police, Director of State Security Service (DSS) and all other federal security agencies not to take such statement for granted.
The Ebonyi indigenous association also demanded a retraction and a public apology from the governor.
“We at AESID which to condemn in its wholeness the subtle resort to violence or any form of crisis as being preached and propagated by Governor Umahi ahead the contest by aspiring and suitably qualified individuals to succeed him in 2023. The threat is for want of more suiting adjectives obnoxious, vexatious, insensitive and highly provocative coming from the number one citizen of our beloved state which is adjudged to be one of the most peaceful in the country.
“We wish to observe that firstly; the said assertion is quite unfortunate coming from Governor Umahi who in the build up to his battle to outwit and arm-twist his erstwhile boss, elderstatesman and immediate-past Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Martin Elechi was allowed by his peace-loving predecessor and indeed Ebonyians in general to freely declare his intention, grab the State’s governing Party, PDP’s ticket and successfully emerge the Governor of our dear State in such a time without any threat to crisis or violence.
“It baffles common sense, profound reasoning and good conscience that the State’s Chief Security Officer could sound this awful in his desperate bid to produce his successor come 2023. In our keen estimation, Governor Umahi has therefore by this unguarded assertion shown himself the common enemy of the same very people he was elected to serve.