The Organisation of Ebonyi State Indegenes in the Diaspora (OESID) has urged Governor Dave Umahi to discard plans to establish the ruga settlement in parts of the state.
A statement yesterday by the spokesman, Pascal Oluchukwu, said if the governor refuses to back out of the plans to impose ruga on the Ebonyi’s ancestral land, ‘he should be ready for some unpalatable backlash from the people’.
Oluchukwu accused Umahi of planning to mortgage the future of the youths for personal gain. According to him, the people will not allow Umahi mortgage their future in his blind support for the Federal Government’s abhorrent agenda while pursuing his personal ambition after his tenure ends in 2023.
Oluchukwu argued that the decision to house the ‘outlandish programme’ is a sovereign one that cannot be taken by the governor without recourse to the people where the real sovereignty resides. He urged the governor to appreciate the true essence of democracy and allow the people express themselves freely.
The statement reads: “We, the people of Ebonyi State, cannot accept such dictatorial posturing from a man who was given a limited time and a democratic mandate to lead. Sacking politicians and condemning stakeholders with differing views and opinions is a trait common to dictators and not acceptable. We cannot take Umahi’s degradation and oppression against the people of Ebonyi. He has created a fierce political atmosphere already in Ebonyi, and we are tired of his misrule.
“Millions of Ebonyians are suffering and wallowing in abject poverty, while the governor keeps looking at inconsequential things. Civil servants haven’t been paid for many months now, and the state is suffering; yet, the governor focuses on his will to build an international airport that will only serve his selfish interests while the state keeps sinking into peril.”
Oluchukwu called on the governor to rescind the decision.
