The caucus, led by Mrs Kate Ofor, APC State Publicity Secretary, the Legal Adviser of Enugu West Senatorial Zone of the APC, and Ezeagu House of Assembly Constituency candidate in the 2015 general elections, Hon Anayo Iyama, Chief Chibuike Obu and Robinson Anyanechi, told Ekweremadu to stop dragging the name of Ezeagu and indeed Ndigbo into his legal tangle.”
Rising from a meeting, the APC chieftains said they were reacting to a statement by His Royal Highness, Igwe Hafford Agana, who had while speaking on behalf of over 30 other traditional rulers at an event in Ezeagu, said: ”we are telling the whole world that nothing should happen to Ekweremadu. We have given him another ‘Offor Staff today.” The APC Caucus, therefore, told Senator Ekweremadu “to desist from dragging our revered traditional institution and Ndigbo in general into partisan politics and internal affairs of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Our understanding of the issue at stake is that some senators, labelled, Unity Forum, felt aggrieved after the June 9, 2015 senate leadership election and thereafter alleged that the Senate Rules was doctored.
“The Unity Forum reported the matter to the Police; after investigation, the matter was filed to court by the Hon Attorney General of the Federation. To us, it is only the court which can resolve the matter either way.
“We had thought that Senator Ekweremadu as a senior lawyer could have devoted more attention on how best to assemble the best legal team to quash the matter, instead of dragging Ndigbo into his legal tangle.
“To us, Ekweremadu is being sentimental and hysterical over the matter, as if he is not sure-footed, especially when the Senate leadership is jostling for immunity clause at this critical junction. He should be careful before his trajectory crosses the red line of contempt of the court.”
They added that “Our primary concern is that in Ekweremadu’s over ten years in the senate, all the federal roads in the South East collapsed. With all his powers, the 2nd Niger Bridge remained a mirage, Enugu Coal dormant and our youths remained grossly unemployed. Where was our distinguished senator when all our infrastructure collapsed? Was he not the No 2 man under former President Goodluck Jonathan when Ndigbo got zero allocation infrastructure?
“Now that the 2016 budget has provision for Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Port Harcourt highways, 2nd Niger Bridge, Enugu Coal etc, is it not better for us to collectively push for the execution of these projects instead of railing abuses on President Muhammadu Buhari? Tomorrow the Igwes will complain of marginalisation after unwanted abuses.
“The South-South today is talking of Calabar-Lagos rail line, as well as the East-West Road and we are at Ezeagu celebrating a man whom while our infrastructure is decaying is becoming richer. He seems not interested on the way and manner to chart to complete the federal roads, especially the Udi and Ezeagu federal roads initiated by Hon Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, in the 7th National Assembly. We have to change the narrative from that of personality cult to infrastructural development.”
However, when contacted on phone, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Enugu West Senatorial District and an indigene of Ezeagu LGA, Hon. Okey Ozoani said he would not join issues with “relevance-seekers, although it is instructive that they have finally admitted that the issue of Standing Rules is an internal affair of the Senate”.
“Although their statement is a typical hand of Esau and voice of Jacob, you know it is not for all kinds of rain that you run around to remove your items. If handing over N40 million in scholarships and bursary awards to indigent students; if giving education to over 10,000 adult learners in 32 centres across Enugu West; and if empowering over 250 widows from Enugu West and beyond, which we have done consistently are not worth celebrating, then they should brace up and out-perform Ekweremadu. We will also be glad to celebrate them.
“When those deserving our response talk, we will reply them accordingly and unequivocally. But if I were them, I would rather concern myself with ensuring that my ruling party ends the herdsmen menace in the region, tackle the biting economy, and fight for even a reasonable inclusion of the South East geopolitical zone in the scheme of things”, he added.
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