Hotel owners in Abia State under the aegis of Hotel Welfare Association (HWA) and others have lauded the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali over his appointment of AIG Etim Eneh Okon to head the Police Zone 9 command, Umuahia.
Speaking after a courtesy call on the AIG in Umuahia, chairman, Hotel Welfare Association, Ezekwesiri Onuegbu thanked the IGP for posting Okon to Zone 9, saying when he was in Abia as Commissioner of police, the state knew relative peace.
“The new AIG knows the terrain very well and had done much to sustain the existing peace in the state. Now that he is in charge of the Zone 9, we know he will still deploy his wealth of experience to curtail criminal activities in Zone 9, particularly, Abia”, Akwukwaegbu said.
President General, Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, Goodluck Ibem on his own said “the posting of AIG Okon by the IGP Alkali to Zone 9 is a right step in the right direction”.
According to him, “AIG Okon will replicate in the entire zone what he did as Abia State Commissioner of Police that made Abia State peaceful”.
Another resident, Agwu Agwu while thanking the IGP for Okon’s appointment, regretted any attempt to tag the invasion of Umuahia by the military in 2017 and the subsequent killings to AIG Okon.
Agwu said, “to my knowledge, Okon was not in the state during the military Python Dance that killed many Abians in 2017.
“He came in as the Abia CP in February 11, in 2019. Everything that happened in the state was before he came. One CP (Oyebade) Leye, and later CP (Anthony) Ogbizi were there before he came. He was not privy to what happened”, Agwu said.
On his own, the chairman, Police Public Relations Committee (PCRC) Collins Obi said it was not for nothing the IGP appointed Okon to oversee Zone 9, having brought professionalism to bear in his job when he was Commissioner of police in Abia.
