Youths from Ukwa/Ngwa nation have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently intervene and find peaceful solution to the political imbroglio in Abia State.

At a press briefing Sunday evening in Umuahia, the youths, under the aegis of Supreme Council of Ukwa/Ngwa Youths, threatened that they would make the state ungovernable if the on-going governorship tussle in Abia was not resolved through due process.

The Supreme Council of Ukwa/Ngwa Youths is the apex umbrella body of all youths of Ukwa-Ngwa drawn from nine of the 17 Local Government Areas in the state. The youths said they were poised to protect and project economic and socio-political interest of Ndi-Ukwa-Ngwa at all levels.

The angry youths interpreted the attempt by Dr. Uche Ogah to topple Ikpeazu as an orchestrated plan to deny Abia South Senatorial zone its opportunity to administer the state, an attempt they vowed to resist by whatever means possible.

National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Kingsley Nna Okadigbo, flanked by other members of the executive, said the youths came up with these positions after keen observation, in-depth analysis and consultations on the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja which disqualified the governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, as candidate of Peoples Democratic Party in the April 2015 governorship elections.

Okadigbo said the Council “frowned at the hurried issuance of Certificate of Return to Ogah by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the 30^th of June, 2016, having acknowledged the receipt of motion for stay of execution and notice of appeal filed by Ikpeazu on the 28^th of June, 2016.

“This is a clear case of judicial rape on democracy of Nigeria, an act we shall vehemently resist by whatever means possible,” the youths declared.

“We unequivocally affirm our stance on the popular Abia Charter of Equity and PDP zoning formula which provided that the governorship seat shall rotate among the three senatorial districts of Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South. Abia North where Uche Ogah hails from have taken their slot for the governorship of the state from 1999 to 2007,” the youths added.

Furthermore, they warned that if the current governorship palaver was not resolved through due process, there would be insecurity in Ukwa/Ngwa nation.

“The Council states in clear terms that the security and safety of oil and gas facilities, staff of the operational Joint Venture Companies in Ukwa/Ngwa nation can no longer be guaranteed if issues raised here-in are not addressed in consonance with the rule of law and diligent due process,” Okadigbo said, stressing that “it is on record that the Ukwa/Ngwa nation has been the most peaceful oil-producing area in Nigeria.”

The youths advised that their “peaceful and diplomatic disposition should not be taken for granted,” and called “on forces behind the orchestrated plot to set Abia ‘the God’s Own State’ ablaze, to desist henceforth and give peace a chance.”

According to them, despite owning ancient and modern commercial cities and oil wells that brought Abia State into the oil map in Nigeria, the Ukwa/Ngwa nation has been living together in peace with all by abhorring rancor and bitterness, “hence we call on President Muhammadu Buhari, to as a matter of urgency, wade in and nip in the bud, the brewing crisis in Abia State.”

The youths said they have unanimously passed a vote of confidence on Ikpeazu as the Abia State governor and assured him of their unflinching support. “His mandate as freely given is one thing we are prepared to defend with the last drop of our blood,” they said.

News Express reports that Abia State last week relapsed into political uncertainties following INEC's issuance of Certificate of Return to Dr. Uche Ogah in obedience to an Abuja Federal High Court ruling which disqualified Ikpeazu and ordered him to vacate office.

•Photo shows Governor Ikpeazu.

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