The Osita Chidoka Campaign Organisation has said that it stands by its statement that Igbo leaders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) are to blame for the escalation of aggression against the people of the South East region and the attendant hostilities therefrom.

The campaign office of the governorship candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP) in the Anambra State governorship election also urged youths in the region not to resort to violence but resist the temptation to visit the sins of the political elite and unscrupulous uniformed men on other harmless Nigerians on the street.

In a statement issued by its Director of Media, Viola Ifeyinwa Okolie on Thursday, the campaign organisation cautioned APGA and APC leaders to stop inundating the organisation with lame explanations but go and face the people who they betrayed.

The statement reads: “Since our statements wherein directly opposed the military action in the south east and blamed the escalation of hostilities against the region on the silence of Igbo leaders in APC and APGA, we have been inundated by the two parties attempting to rationalise their failure.

“APGA and Igbo leaders in the APC should direct their explanations, if they have any, to the people and not to us. They should face the people and rationalize to them the harassment, humiliation and killing of our unarmed brothers and sisters in Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Enugu and recently in Ekwulobia, Umuahia and Aba.

“They should tell them why they kept silent in the face of the constant threats and aggression against southeasterners living in northern parts of the country. They should explain their silence on the heavy deployment of APC-controlled security forces to the southeast and the constant harassment and unwarranted violence against unarmed youth by unscrupulous uniformed men.

“They should tell the people what they have done on the issue of tagging of south easterners and treating them as mere 5% in this country.

“We all know that only the United Progressive Party (UPP), as a political party has been speaking out for the people and defending their constitutionally guaranteed rights whenever occasion demands, while making genuine efforts to aggregate the view of Ndi-Igbo to other groups in the country.

“The fact remains that if Igbo leaders in APC and APGA had played their roles by adequately aggregating and explaining the views of the southeast to other parts of the country, the agitations we now have in the region and the unnecessary disagreements we face in other parts of the country would not be there.

“On our own part, we stand for peace and reject any resort to violence. We will continue to speak out against all forms of marginalisation, injustice and inequality. The key issues for us remain those of equal access to opportunities and abolition of unfair advantages to any group in the polity. We therefore strongly urge our youth to resist the temptation to vent their anger on other harmless Nigerians going about their normal activities in the region.

“Finally, we restate our call on security forces to forthwith end the harassment and violations against unarmed civilians not only in the southeast as being witnessed today, but also in other parts of the country,” the campaign said.

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