The South East Governors Forum on Monday unequivocally rejected the recent proposal by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) to organise local vigilance groups in the South East to curtail crimes in the region.

The Chairman of the South East Governors Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi in a statement released on Monday afternoon by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, described the allegation of the governors being willing to allow MACBAN to form vigilance groups as strange.

Umahi said: “I find it extremely strange for anybody to think that non-locals in any part of the country including South East could be allowed to form vigilante outfit. The Miyetti Allah group may have made that suggestion which I believe will never mean to form a vigilante in South East; whichever is the meaning, no Governor will allow that.”

Continuing, Umahi said: “South East Governors have their local vigilantes working with security agencies. Any such demand by Miyetti group is a joke and not acceptable. Governors of South East are doing their best and we have no problems receiving insults from our people. It is the price for leadership. The important thing to us is the safety and well-beings of our people. OPC and other pressure groups may not have found it fashionable to be insulting their leaders even when their leaders may not be saints.

“My task is to develop Ebonyi State, contribute in rebuilding South East and Nigeria. My calling is not to insult others for me to do these. Have we been fairly treated? No. Can we solve the problem by hate speeches? For me; No. Nobody no matter the level of pretense can change my style of peaceful leadership. Ebonyi in particular has suffered so much even in the context of South East. We believe that we do not need hate speeches as a strategy to solve our problems.”

Governor Umahi stressed that no Miyetti Allah vigilante is welcome in the South East, and no cattle ranch or colony would be allowed in the region. He however said that the people “must live peacefully with herdsmen that do not destroy their farm land, especially those that were born in the region and have lived peacefully with them.”

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