The chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, Chief David
Umahi, has denied that the body met behind closed door where they accused the
federal government of killing members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB
and other issues.
Umahi made this known while reacting to a report credited to
one Nwankpa Osita Okere who alleged that the forum met in Abakaliki, the
capital of Ebonyi state where they accused the Federal Government of brutality
on Ndigbo.
The Chairman of the Forum in a statement signed by his Chief
Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, described the report as tissues of lie from the
pit of hell.
He stated that the report was craftily done to embarrass the
forum and cause confusion between the Governors of the zone and the Federal
Government as part of efforts to thwart peace process with the IPOB.
He accused the originators of the falsehood of trying to
sabotage the peace process already in motion between the forum and leadership
of the IPOB especially as it concerns the rebuilding process and the way
forward to achieving lasting peace in the zone.
The statement reads, “the attention of the forum has been
drawn to a report circulating in various social media platforms, alleging that
the South East Governors met behind closed doors at the Government House
Abakaliki where they reached a consensus and accused the federal government of
killing members of IPOB. While it is our responsibility to protect the lives
and property of our people including the IPOB, it is rather embarrassing to
link the forum to whatever politics of bitterness in any part of the country.”
“Firstly, the writer and his paymasters failed to meet up
with the realities on ground as concerns the already initiated move between the
governors’ forum and leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu reached during our last
meeting in our secretariat in Enugu. It is therefore the wish of the forum to
assure the general public that the communiqué raised during our last meeting
with IPOB leadership still stands and anybody circulating any report contrary
is the real enemy of Ndigbo and should be disregarded.”
The statement further disclosed that there was no such
meeting as reported, adding that the Chairman of the forum, Governor Umahi whom
he quoted as issuing the statement was not even in the country as he is outside
the country on investment drive for the development of his state.
He said that the forum is working in synergy with the
federal government and other federating units towards economic and regional
integration and development of the South East region and called on members of
the public to disregard every attempt by amorphous groups to instigate crisis
between the zone and the federal government.
By Godwin Aliuna
