EBONYI: Gov Umahi under attack for approving establishment of herders’ settlement

The Organisation of Ebonyi State Indigenes in the Diaspora (OESID) has asked the State Governor, Dave Umahi to prepare for backlash from the people if he refused to back out of the planned establishment of grazing reserve settlements for herdsmen in the state.

In a statement signed by its Spokesman, Pascal Oluchukwu, in Abuja on Sunday, the group urged the governor not to impose herders’ programme on Ebonyi’s ancestral land.

They said they would not allow Governor Umahi mortgage their future in what was described as a blind support for the Federal Government abhorrent agenda.

Oluchukwu claimed that the governor’s plan was an indicator that Umahi was pursuing his personal ambition after the expiration of his tenure in 2023.

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“We cannot accept such dictatorial posturing from a man that was only given a limited time and democratic mandate to lead and not to rule,” he said.

Oluchukwu, who described herders’ settlement as an outlandish programme, said that it is a sovereign one that cannot be taken by the governor without recourse to the people of the state, where the real sovereignty resides.

The organisation’s spokesman, therefore, called on Umahi to immediately rescind his decision.

He urged the governor to appreciate the true essence of democracy by allowing Ebonyi people to express themselves freely.

“The way and manner the Ebonyi state governor has been cowering and intimidating Ebonyi politicians shows that he does not value democracy.

“Sacking politicians and condemning stakeholders with differing views and opinions is a trait common to dictators and not an acceptable attribute of freely elected democratic leaders.

“We cannot take Umahi’s degradation and oppression against the people of Ebonyi,” Oluchukwu said.

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