Dialogue with IPOB now, Senator Orji tells Buhari

Obinwannem News Dialogue with IPOB now, Senator Orji tells Buhari

Senator representing Abia Central in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Senator Theodore Orji, has asked the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd.), to dialogue with the leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra, to ensure peace in the geo political zone.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Sunday while marking his 70th birthday, Orji noted that dialoguing with the dissident voices, including the IPOB, remains one of the best ways to achieve peace in the South-East geopolitical zone.

The lawmaker further said that the Igbo ethnicity has been crying of marginalization over the years, and deserves a ‘listening ear’ rather than the use of force. He added that restructuring remained the only way out of the country’s social, economic, and political crises.

Orji maintained that the South-East geopolitical zone remained marginalized being the only region with just five states and the major tribe that had not produced a President of Nigeria since 1999.

In his words, “If there are dissident voices, the president should call them and discuss with them.

“He should find out the cause of their agitation and work out ways to address their grievances.

” He should see how he can bring them in and fully integrate them into the system.

“That is what will solve the problem of the country. Call the dissident voices to a conference.

“There is nothing bad in discussing with the IPOB. If you don’t discuss with them, they will continue to give you trouble.

“We can’t be happy when other regions have six states and we have five. It shows that we are marginalised and cheated. That is what is causing the agitation in the region.

“Some groups are agitating that the zone should be a country on its own. Others are demanding restructuring because it is glaring that the South-East is being marginalized.

“If you treat me fairly like you treat other persons and I’m convinced that you are sincere, I will not complain. It is when I look around me and I see that I am being marginalized and treated like a second-class citizen that would make people to be agitating.

“My advice on how to move the country forward is already on the table and that is restructuring and resource control.

“The issue of resource control should be addressed because the resources are coming from the same people who are agitating.

“You won’t expect us to keep quiet when we are producing and you are not giving us enough.”

Nwada Ugochinyere Onyechere reporting, Obinwannem News

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