IGBOS ARE EVERYWHERE, EVEN IN SAMBISA FOREST – IKPEAZU
IGBOS ARE EVERYWHERE,
EVEN IN SAMBISA FOREST – IKPEAZU
Abia State governor, Okezie
Ikpeazu has said there are Igbos in the Sambisa Forest, where Boko
Haram insurgents are hibernating.
The governor said this after
meeting with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential
Villa on Tuesday.
He added that the population of
Igbos in the South-East is lower than those outside the region.
“I want to announce that the
population of Igbo outside the Igbo enclave is about 11.6 million; you don’t
play with the lives of 11.6 million people,” he said.
“We all have to be careful, the
press, the leadership at the state level and at the federal level, everybody.
We are still working on stabilising and sustaining the fragile peace that we
enjoy now.
“I swore with the Bible to
protect lives and property; because I take such oath very seriously, I will
continue to protect the lives and property of our brothers and sisters
irrespective of where they come from.
“I do not see how, as an Igbo
man, boxing myself into a smaller geographic entity will help the cause of the
most widely travelled people in Nigeria.
“There are Igbo in Sambisa
(forest); what are you expecting of them if I narrow their geography of
coverage.
“But agitation, marginalisation
and infrastructure deficiencies, these are issues which are germane and they
can be discussed, spoken about and addressed.”
