Give Us Additional State In Southeast Before 2023, Ohanaeze Begs Buhari

For the umpteenth time, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, weekend, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to expressly create an additional state in the Southeast region before the end of his tenure in 2023 for the sake of equity and justice.

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization said the protracted non-creation of an additional state in the region had continued to retard the development of the zone, as other regions in the country take advantages of the states created from them to gain more from Nigeria’s common wealth.

Ohanaeze made this known in a press release issued by its spokesman, Chuks Ibegbu, which was made available to THE WHISTLER in Abakaliki.

Ibegbu lamented that appointments into the federal civil service, recruitments into the army, paramilitary; elections into seats at the National Assembly, as well as infrastructural allocations were determined according to states, adding that the Southeast region, with just five states, had been shortchanged over the years.

According to him, “We are suffering the effect as our youths are left in the lurch”, and berated some Igbo leaders for not being outspoken towards the creation of an additional state in the Southeast region over the years. He further stated that ensuring fairness in the distribution of the nation’s common wealth was even more germane than the ongoing quest for an presidency.