…IPOB portrayed irrationality – DSP, Omo-Agege
ABUJA— LAWMAKER representing Abia South senatorial district in the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe has blasted the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, over its attack on former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, at Nuremberg, Germany, describing the act as ‘reprehensible, show of ingratitude and utterly sacrilegious.’
The Senate Minority Leader, said the act smacks of utter ignorance of the prevailing situation at home with regards to what the leaders are doing in the circumstance.
“It is a brazen show of ingratitude to a man who has been at the forefront in the struggle for all that is good for the Igbo race”.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Minority Leader said he and the entire minority caucus in the Senate are appalled on the ‘very nauseating attack’ on Mr Ekweremadu.
Mr Ekweremadu, he said, has given his all in standing for the Igbo race, particularly when “we stuck out our neck to arrange and stand for surety for the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
“Obviously this is not how to repay a man, an outstanding leader of men, an unpretentious Igbo leader who has given his all even going as far as deploying his means to arrange for the bail of Nnamdi Kanu, not minding the repercussions to his illustrious political career.
“It is unfortunate. The perpetrators of the attack should know that as Igbos, we respect elders and reverence our leaders. The unwarranted attack is not the character of the Igbo. This is un-Igbo. It is most worrisome and even inconceivable that the attackers will choose an auspicious occasion where our people are celebrating and showcasing our rich culture to exhibit such unbecoming and condemnable conduct in the name of agitation.
“No, that was not agitation, no right-thinking human will identify with such behaviour. Yes, Nigeria is going through a horrendous phase, which is a fault line that her leaders, particularly we the Igbo leaders are engaging others to find a lasting solution to.
“Resorting to mob mentality and venting the spleen on our leaders rather creates a vacuum that will leave our people helpless and confused in the circumstance”, he said.
Mr Abaribe urged the aggrieved to abide by peaceful rules of engagement to vent their dissatisfaction.
Also speaking in a separate statement condemning the assault on Ekweremadu, the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, said the attack “is not only dastardly exportation of irrationality but an aggressive international affront against the image of Igbos and Nigeria.”
Omo-Agege who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, on Sunday, expressed shock over the undeserved assault and called on law enforcement agencies in Germany to investigate and bring to book all those involved in the vicious attack.
“What they did is not only a violent assault against the good image of the Igbo race across the world but an aggressive attack against the traditional norms of a people known to be hardworking and respectful of meaningful contributions by leaders such as Senator Ekweremadu.
“Such disappointing physical abuse also grossly disregards Senator Ekweremadu’s democratic antecedents and his long-standing commitment to the cause of his people. But, as he has said out of the usual largeness of his forgiving heart, these people know not what they do.
“Such criminal attack, along with other anti-social attempts to accuse, condemn and lynch anyone remains utterly condemnable and illegal, notwithstanding whether it takes place on Nigerian or foreign soil as it is the easiest invitation to anomie,” Mr Omo-Agege was quoted as saying.
