By Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki
Apparently worried that no Igboman or woman is in the apex security architecture in the country, the South-east governors have renewed agitation, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a service chief from the zone.
The Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum and Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi, disclosed to newsmen in Abakaliki that one of the major demands the forum requested from the president during their recent meeting was for a service Chief from the South-east.
However, THISDAY gathered that with the promotion of former Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, Peace Ibekwe Abdallah, to the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police, she is the highest ranking Igbo officer in Nigeria’s security architecture.
The governor added that though the request was not reported on media, the demand is not new as it was one of the things that the people of the zone have been clamouring for, to address some of the issues of marginalisation against Ndigbo.
He noted that the way Nigeria security apparatus was structured does not reflect the federal character principle which is enshrined in 1999 Constitution as amended, and therefore called for concerted effort to address the imbalance, stressing that South-east would not shy away from the development from the federal government because they are PDP zone.
Umahi said: “One thing newspaper did not report is that we also requested for a service chief from South-east. We don’t have any and all that we requested are not new, they have been the things our people have been clamoring for.
“South-east visited the president to talk about the delay in the construction of federal roads, the international airport, the bridge we do extreme politics in Nigeria. Politics should be separated from the welfare of the people. It was a positive one. We must separate politics from reality. South-east will not say because they are PDP they should shy away from the development from the federal government. For me that is stupidity.
“We are not campaigning for anybody but we must say that the welfare of southeast, the problem of South-east, the future of southeast is beyond partisan politics”.
He added that every arrangement was on top gear for the Ebonyi state government to receive President Muhammadu Buhari on a one-day working visit on January, 2019 where the president would commission the glass tunnel named after him in the state.
