From Petrus Obi, Enugu
DEPUTY Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday accused the Federal Government of provoking the Igbo and warned that things will not be the same if the Igbo are not given deserved respect as a people and due recognition in governance.
Ekweremadu, who received a delegation of Ezzeagu chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders, led by the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the local government, Chukwudi Ezinwa in his Enugu residence, said the Igbo would resist further attempts to disrespect or marginalise them in the governance of the country.
His words: “As Ndigbo, we are going through trying periods; we are being provoked everyday by the government of the country; by the way they treat our people especially and the marginalisation going on at the level of the Federal government.
“We are all aware of the contributions of the Igbo to the growth and development of this country. We have done so much for this country and we deserve some amount of respect; and until we get our respect, Nigeria will not be the same.
“So, any person who thinks the Igbo will be relegated, is joking; we believe in equity and justice. We will never accept a situation where Igbo or any other tribe for that matter is excluded in the governance of this country. Nigeria belongs to all of us.”
He promised to ensure that every community in Ezzeagu council gets potable water in the next four years and announced that he had delivered some transformers and challenged the council administration to put the transformers to use.
“What we are doing is to put Enugu West on the part of irreversible development; to showcase our senatorial zone to show that government can work; that representation can be qualitative,” he said.
Ezinwa praised the lawmaker for outstanding representation of the Enugu West in the Senate and urged him not to relent, saying there are still some jobs left undone.
He lamented the state of some federal roads in Ezzeagu and urged the deputy Senate president to do his best in ensuring that the roads get desired attention from the Federal Government.