RUGA: Southern, Middle Belt leaders brand PDP BoT Chairman an ‘ethnic supremacist’

The Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze, and foremost Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, have derided Walil Jubril for supporting the controversial RUGA Settlement programme of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Walid Jubril, who is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, while addressing newsmen on Tuesday, had called on the Southeast, South west, and other parts of the country to embrace the controversial RUGA programme.

He noted that the proposed settlement policy for herdsmen would promote peace and security in the country.

However, the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum disagreed with Jubril, describing the call as insensitive.

According to the forum, the PDP BoT chairman has confirmed the fears that RUGA is an ethnic conquest policy that is at variance with nationhood.

Yinka Odumakin, Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, Senator Bassey Henshaw and Dr Isuwa Dogo from the South West, South East, South South and Middle Belt respectively, made their reaction in a joint statement on Wednesday.

“The ethnic domination programme seeks to create homelands for Fulani herdsmen all over Nigeria in spite of the terror non-Fulani communities have been subjected to even when these herders are nomads.

“Southern and Middle Belt communities have rejected the internal colonialism agenda out rightly.”

READ ALSO: PDP BOT chair Jibrin calls on Igbo, Yoruba, others to accept RUGA

The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum further asserted: “We say clearly to Jubril that his appeal to our zones to accept the obnoxious policy is rejected with no thanks.

“He should join his fellow ethnic supremacists to pursue Ruga in the states in the North that have accepted Ruga and spare us his sophistry and non-sequitor.

“Our opposition to the policy remains unwavering and Ruga will only be implemented in our communities after a military conquest of the entire South and Middle Belt as we have told Femi Adesina that we will keep our lands and lives against Ruga policy.

“We are not members of the PDP, though we adopted Atiku as presidential candidate in the last election based on his promise to restructure Nigeria, but we call on all PDP Governors in our zones to ignore their BOT Chair who has spoken as a champion of his ethnic group but wearing the badge of their party.

“We say NO to Ruga!”

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