Regional Government: Don’t cede any Igbo land to another zone, Charles Ogbonnaya warns

An elder Statesman, Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, has warned against the ceding of any part of Igboland to another zone in the proposed return of Nigeria to regional government.

He said if it was impossible to return the country to the original four regions as was operational before the military intervention in 1966, the safest thing to do was to promote the current six geo political zones to the regions.

Chief Ogbonnaya, a two term commissioner in Abia State spoke against the backdrop of speculations that in a proposed bill for the return of the country to regional government, Ohaji/ Egbema local government in Imo state will be ceded to the South South zone.

He said such an offensive proposal amounted to a declaration of war against Ndigbo in that the said Ohaji/Egbema is an oil producing area,and therefore a life wire for the south east economically.

According to him, if Nigeria wants to right the wrongs of the past ,all Igbo speaking local governments both in Delta, Rivers, and Kogi states should form part of the South East Region.

Said he ,” If you recall, it was politics of the civil war that made the Mamman Nasir Boundary Adjustment Commission to even cede some parts of Egbema where former IGP Mike Okiro hails from to Rivers. All those areas are Igboland. “

He said it would be a grave injustice against Ndigbo for anyone to contemplate balkanizing the South East even when they are clamouring to be at par with other zones in terms of the number of states.

Chief Ogbonnaya who was a founding father of PDP urged National Assembly Members from the South East to be on alert to ensure that they oppose any attempt to further marginalise Ndigbo in the name of the draft Bill on return to regional government.

” In fact, they should push that all Igbo speaking local governments should be part of the South East, just as they proposed that all Yoruba speaking local governments should be in the south west.Anyone proposing that Ohaji/ Egbema should be taken away from us is an enemy of Ndigbo. “

Meanwhile, Chief Charles Ogbonnaya has commended President Bola Tinubu for initiating the court action, which resulted in the Supreme Court landmark judgment granting financial autonomy to the local governments across the country.

He said the judgment will not only strengthen democracy but accelerate development at the grassroots.

According to him, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has clearly demonstrated leadership through this approach by saving the local governments from the stranglehold of the governors.

He advised the federal government to take further steps to monitor the enforcement of the court ruling to avert its subversion by the governors.

The elder Statesman said part of the monitoring steps would be to ensure that the third tier of government is democratized as against the current practice of appointment of sole administrators by the governors.

Said he, ” this judgment can not make meaning if the election into local governments is conducted by state electoral commissions. INEC should take charge of conduct of local government elections. “