The federal government has been called upon to ensure a thorough investigation of the alleged discrimination against Igbos at the onset of the evacuation of Nigerians fleeing the ongoing violence in Sudan.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abia State Council made the call in a communique issued after its monthly congress of April, during which it “exhaustively deliberated” on local and national issues.

Igbos among the panic-stricken Nigerians fleeing Sudan were said to have been asked by Nigerian embassy officials to disembark from a bus taking them and their fellow country men and women across the border to Egypt.

Though the federal government has admitted the incident after initial denials, the Abia NUJ said that the matter should not be swept under the carpet. In the 11-point communique endorsed by the State Council Chairman, Victor Ndukwe and Secretary, Adaeze Ralph Igbokwe, the Abia NUJ said that federal government should verify the incident, redress the situation and mete out appropriate sanctions against the erring officials.

The body of journalists in Abia reviewed the performance of the outgoing administration of Okezie Ikpeazu, noting that it has scored pass marks “in terms of policy and project implementation”. However, the Abia NUJ regretted that “the low points” recorded by the Ikpeazu government have blighted its positives, adding that the absence of general improvement on the general welfare of the people has remained an issue of much concern.

The council noted that non-payment of workers’ salaries, pensions and gratuities for retirees has done no good to the image of the outgoing administration. Nonetheless, the Abia NUJ appealed to the governor “to ensure that civil servants in the state are paid their salaries, including their outstanding March and April 2023 salaries and other allowances, before it hands over to the incoming administration.

“On the outcome of the March 18, 2023 governorship poll in Abia, the state council congratulated the governor-elect, Mr. Alex Otti of the Labour Party and assured him of maximum support to move Abia forward.

The NUJ tasked incoming governor to as a matter of priority sanitise the Umuahia City centre known as Isigate, immediately after his inauguration and “rid the city of notorious touts whose nefarious activities have continued to portray the state in bad light”.

It also called for smooth transfer of power in Abia, urging both the outgoing and incoming administration in the state as well as all political actors “to desist from statements, actions and inactions capable of truncating the relative peace being enjoyed in the state”. (THISDAY: Text, Excluding Headline)

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