The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, on Wednesday, tackled the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, asking the latter to desist from allegedly inciting youths of the South-East extraction against the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Umahi also said Obi was not the mouthpiece of Ndigbo, hence he cannot speak for the people of South-East Nigeria.
Umahi, who spoke during an Ebonyi State Youth and Stakeholders meeting held at the Christian Ecumenical Center in Abakaliki, the state capital, said that the South-East Governors, the traditional rulers and the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo are the mouthpieces of Ndigbo and not Peter Obi.
“Let me say this, His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi does not speak for Ndigbo. Our Governors, Ohaneze Ndigbo and our traditional rulers are our leaders, they speak for us. Let the enemies of Ndigbo hear it and hear it clearly, our governors and Ohaneze Ndigbo are the mouthpiece of Ndigbo.
“Let nobody take the comment of one person and begin to malign us. We are very peaceful people. We will continue to support Mr. President. My advice to our brother is to have a rethink, so as not to incite some of the uninformed youths against the rule of law and endanger the peace of the nation.
“Whenever there is protest, the economy of such nation goes down. The EndSARS protest did not generate anything, but the people gathered and interacted with the government and issues raised were addressed.
“Protest does not yield anything. It is when you make your grievances known that it will be addressed and let me say it that President Bola Tinubu is addressing all the grievances of the youths and the people,” Umahi stated.
Addressing the youths and the stakeholders present, Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru, urged youths of the State not to be part of the planned nationwide protests against hardship as his administration was working assiduously to address all the issues that will better the lives of every Ebonyi citizen.
Governor Nwifuru said that his administration will always listen to the agitations and concerns of the youths of the State and will ensure that their demands, requests and aspirations were met.
He urged Nigerians to be patient with President Tinubu as he was working towards addressing all the challenges facing the country even as he described the fuel subsidy as a big scam by stakeholders in the oil industry and commended the President for its removal.
“Let me make it clear that those who were major beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy are the ones fighting back against the interest of Nigerian youths but with our support, President Bola Tinubu will definitely defeat all those fighting his administration,” the governor stated.
Other leaders of Ebonyi State who spoke against the planned protest included the former Senate President, Senator Pium Anyim Pium, former governor of the State, Chief Martin Elechi, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and that of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), traditional rulers and the Student Union bodies in the State.