Thursday, November 15, 2012

State creation: MASSOB threatens showdown


The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has threatened to disrupt the 2015 general elections in the South-East zone if an addition state was not created for the region to be at par with other zones. Leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike who issued this threat yesterday, said that his group would not stay back to watch President Goodluck Jonathan renege on the promises he made to Ndigbo in the build-up to the 2011 general elections.
The new Igbo leader, who was reacting to the comments credited to the Deputy Senate President and Chairman of Constitution Review Committee, Chief Ike Ekweremadu who said the National Assembly’s hands were tied on the issue of creation of additional state in the zone, disclosed that the creation of an additional state was among the major promises President Jonathan made to him and the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu
. “I want to react to the statement by Ike Ekweremadu where he said that their hands were tied on the issue of creation of an additional state in the South-East geopolitical zone to bring equality in the states across the country. Creation of another state in this zone and construction of the second Niger Bridge were major promises Jonathan made to Ojukwu and I and to renege on these will bring nothing but bloodshed and violent revolution.
“I have done it before during the general census where I asked Ndigbo not to take part. If he wants to challenge me again, I will do it and this time, there will be no election in South-East zone in 2015, unless he (President Jonathan) keeps and fulfils his promises,” the MASSOB leader vowed. Chief Uwazuruike described the statement by Ekweremadu as a ploy by the Federal Government to subtly renege on the promises made to Ndigbo during the last general election, adding that it would further bring anarchy and chaos to the entire nation.
He said: “Since Jonathan assumed office through tremendous and overwhelming support of Ndigbo, he has not carried out all the promises he made to Ojukwu and I that made us to support him. Now, I can see that he used and dumped us by reneging on the promises to create an additional state in the South-East, and also to construct the second Niger Bridge.”
He, therefore, warned that anything short of additional state in the zone and the second Niger Bridge would not be accepted by Ndigbo, saying that any attempt to conduct elections in the zone in the absence of the above mentioned projects would bring bloodshed and violent revolution.
His words: “Any attempt by the Federal Government or any other external or internal body to conduct election in South-East in the absence of the major promises made to our great leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu by President Goodluck Jonathan during 2011 general election will bring nothing but revolution starting from South-East and blood will be spilled.”

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