Imo state Governor, Hope Uzodinma, has sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ask for the federal government’s intervention to restore peace and order to the Southeast.
The growing insecurity in the South Eastern region of Nigeria has received the attention of leaders from the zone region who Uzodinma said sent him to meet Tinubu.
Uzodinma after meeting with President Tinubu on Thursday told newsmen at the State House in Abuja that the Southeast leaders had seen the need to lean on the federal government to solve the security crisis.
“I visited the President on behalf of the people of Southeast of the country. If you will recall, a few days ago, we had a meeting of the leadership of Southeast political and non-political leaders,” Uzodinma said.
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“The meeting was in conjunction with the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo, and among the resolutions from that meeting was to visit Mr. President to support and intervene in our resolve in addressing the issue of insecurities.
“The Southeastern part of the country has been bedeviled with this high level of security ranging from banditry, kidnapping activities of unknown gunmen, to the extent that most of the states, out of the five states in the Southeastern part of the country, a lot of resources have been expended, community efforts have been invested, yet the problems seem not to be abating.
“So, the leadership of the zone met and agreed that working with the forum of governors from the southeast, we will come to Mr. President to formally request his intervention and additional support from the federal government to ensure that there is peace in the Southeastern part of the country.
“The people of the Southeast believe in the unity of the country and that as an integral part of the Nigerian project, it also needs serious attention in terms of provision of security for our people to go about their businesses.”
Uzodinma, however, did not disclose details of what the Southeast leaders would be demanding from Tinubu when the meeting holds.
The Chairman of the Southeast governors’ forum nevertheless lamented that non-state actors have utilized fear and indiscriminate killings and brigandage to enforce an illegal sit-at-home on some days in the region.
According to him, the problem had also become an issue of “perception management”, even as he pointed out that international diplomacy, which is also part of the solution, is beyond the purview of the five state governors in the region.
Southeast leaders resolved to seek an audience with Tinubu on the security situation in the region on Monday after a four-hour closed-door meeting in Abuja.
Governors, Members of the National Assembly, Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly, and other notable leaders of the region were part of the meeting in Abuja.
Speaking with journalists, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, said all the leaders across political party lines have decided to work together for the good of the region.
