Press Release…
We call on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to extend the fight against corruption to former Governors and political office holders from other geo-political zones for equity and fairness. There should not be any sacred cows in the fight against corruption. It should be wholistic.
Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu govern Abia State from 1999 to 2007 and we have former governors from other zones that serve the same time with him that are very corrupt moving about freely without being probed or any invitation extended to them by the EFCC or other graft agencies.
If we are sincere about the fight against corruption, it should be extended to other zones and not south East alone. The EFCC should probe former Governors that govern from 1999 to 2007 from North East, South West , North west and South South geo-political zones.
It is very pertinent for the EFCC , ICPC and other graft agencies to extend the war against corruption to other geo-political zones because, if it was dividend of democracy that was given to South East alone , other zones would have kicked against it vehemently and demanded they get their due share of the national cake.
But now that the reverse is the case, it must be shared evenly among the geo-political zones of the country for equity and justice . Equity demands that anything that is shared , must be shared evenly among the federating units. Not when it comes to sharing of principal political positions and appointments , the South East zone will be excluded from the beneficiaries .
We demand that the EFCC , ICPC and other graft agencies to first concentrate on former Governors , Senators , Federal House of Representatives Members and other political office holders that governed from 1999 to 2007 for proper probity and thorough scrutiny of their records and accounts.
The war against corruption by the EFCC clearly shows that the South East zone is being targeted politically. After Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu was convicted for corruption, within an interval of 2 days , a former governor of the same Abia state that governed from 2007 to 2015 was invited by the EFCC for interrogation.
Is Abia state the only state in Nigeria? Or is it another ploy to give a dog a bad name in other to kill it. The South East zone has been victimized alot and it must stop forthwith.
The whole scenario clearly shows that the fight against corruption is meant for South East alone simply because the demanded that the office of the President be zoned to them for equity and fairness in 2023.
ls it a crime for the South East zone to demand for the office of the President come 2023? The zone is fully part of the federal unit in Nigeria and they have the full right to demand for the Office of the president come 2023.
The South East zone is under EFCC and police siege. In October, 2019, the Nigerian police burnt down people houses in Aba , Abia state . Before the dust of that will settle , the police killed 15 persons and burnt people houses in Oraifitte in Anambra state. On Wednesday 11 December, 2019, the police (SARS) killed a woman in Ubakala , Umuahia South local Government Area of Abia state and now only political office holders from the South East are jailed and interrogated by EFCC and other graft agencies.
We will not accept a situation were only former governors and political office holders from South East zone will be probed or interrogated by the EFCC, ICPC and other graft agencies. Now that one former Governor from the South East zone have been convicted , the fight should shift to North East , North West and South West zone for even and proper distribution of the fight against corruption . Anything short of that is not acceptable to us and we will now know that it is not a fight against corruption, but a fight against the South East zone in order to deprive the zone of the opportunity of producing a Nigerian President come 2023.
Signed:
Chief Goodluck Egwu Ibem
President GeneralComrade Kanice Igwe
Secretary General
