Fulani herdsmen attack: APC governors storm Enugu
Wed May 04, 2016 01:18:pm Politics
2.1K By sosa hills
Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday stormed Enugu State to commiserate with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the people of the state over the recent havoc wrought by Fulani herdsmen in Nimbo community.
Several lives were lost and property worth millions of naira was destroyed by the rampaging Fulani militiamen.
The governors were led by the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who is also the chairman of the APC Governors' Forum.
Among the visiting governors were the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, his Jigawa State counterpart, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar and the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Their Kogi and Yobe States' counterparts were, however, represented by their deputies, Simeon Achuba and Abubakar Ali, respectively.
Okorocha said that they were in Enugu to commiserate with Governor Ugwuanyi irrespective of party affiliation, "since death is a natural phenomenon, no matter the circumstances under which it occurred."
He said: "Death is death, no matter how it comes. But the most painful is the death that is man made. We are APC governors and you are of the PDP. But in death, we are one. We are here to commiserate with you and the people of Enugu State."
Okorocha commended Governor Ugwuanyi and the people of the state for their maturity and the sincerity of purpose they exhibited since the ugly incident occurred by not retaliating the attacks.
The governor noted that in some other places, the reaction would have been different and might have resulted to a national crisis. Okorocha said the APC governors, as a body, condemned the Nimbo attack and support all judicial processes to expose and prosecute the perpetrators.
In his reaction, Gov. Shettima, who doubles as the chairman of the Northern States Governors' Forum, corroborated Okorocha's statement and described Enugu as a very hospitable state for all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe and religion.
He recalled that a northerner from Katsina State once held the position of the Mayor of Enugu Metropolis. He also commended the Igbo race for their versatility and for being the most enterprising tribe in all the towns in the country.
Shettima pleaded for the continuous peaceful co existence of Nigeria as one nation, stating that "the issues that bind us together as one nation are far greater than those that are trying to divide us."
In his response, Governor Ugwuanyi described the incident as very unfortunate, despite all the efforts he made to avoid it. He noted that his administration has resolved to constitute a judicial commission of inquiry into the attack with a view to finding a lasting solution to it.
The governors were received by members of the Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers led by the Chairman, Igwe Lawrence Agubuzo, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Prof. I. Onah and the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, Rt. Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Olisa Chukwuma.
And for his inability to put the activities of the Fulani herdsmen under control, the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Nwodibo Ekechukwu, has been relieved of his appointment.
He has been replaced by the former Commissioner of Police in charge of Kogi State and also the immediate past Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu.
Ojukwu supervised the recent governorship elections in Kogi State. He was, however, redeployed after the elections.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu has described as "totally misleading, false, inciting and uncalled for", reports in some sections of the media alluding to the fact that Northern Governors during their last meeting in Kaduna defended Fulani herdsmen linked with wreaking havoc on communities in several parts of the country.
In an interview with journalists in Makurdi on Tuesday, Abounu said at no point did the governors defend the killings or the killers, adding that the forum condemned the actions of the terror groups operating as herdsmen.
He said it was unfortunate that the statement by the chairman of the forum that condemned the activities of the terrorists is being misconstrued as defending the Fulani people.
"We never defended the Fulani or any group that involved itself in criminality", he said, adding that what the chairman said was that it was wrong to generalise criminality.
Reprieve came for the victims of the attack on Tuesday as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) donated a trailer load of relief materials to Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area.
Presenting the relief materials to the community, the Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mohammad Sani Sidi, who sympathised with the people, said the Federal Government shares in their grief and pains.
Several lives were lost and property worth millions of naira was destroyed by the rampaging Fulani militiamen.
The governors were led by the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who is also the chairman of the APC Governors' Forum.
Among the visiting governors were the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, his Jigawa State counterpart, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar and the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Their Kogi and Yobe States' counterparts were, however, represented by their deputies, Simeon Achuba and Abubakar Ali, respectively.
Okorocha said that they were in Enugu to commiserate with Governor Ugwuanyi irrespective of party affiliation, "since death is a natural phenomenon, no matter the circumstances under which it occurred."
He said: "Death is death, no matter how it comes. But the most painful is the death that is man made. We are APC governors and you are of the PDP. But in death, we are one. We are here to commiserate with you and the people of Enugu State."
Okorocha commended Governor Ugwuanyi and the people of the state for their maturity and the sincerity of purpose they exhibited since the ugly incident occurred by not retaliating the attacks.
The governor noted that in some other places, the reaction would have been different and might have resulted to a national crisis. Okorocha said the APC governors, as a body, condemned the Nimbo attack and support all judicial processes to expose and prosecute the perpetrators.
In his reaction, Gov. Shettima, who doubles as the chairman of the Northern States Governors' Forum, corroborated Okorocha's statement and described Enugu as a very hospitable state for all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe and religion.
He recalled that a northerner from Katsina State once held the position of the Mayor of Enugu Metropolis. He also commended the Igbo race for their versatility and for being the most enterprising tribe in all the towns in the country.
Shettima pleaded for the continuous peaceful co existence of Nigeria as one nation, stating that "the issues that bind us together as one nation are far greater than those that are trying to divide us."
In his response, Governor Ugwuanyi described the incident as very unfortunate, despite all the efforts he made to avoid it. He noted that his administration has resolved to constitute a judicial commission of inquiry into the attack with a view to finding a lasting solution to it.
The governors were received by members of the Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers led by the Chairman, Igwe Lawrence Agubuzo, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Prof. I. Onah and the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, Rt. Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Olisa Chukwuma.
And for his inability to put the activities of the Fulani herdsmen under control, the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Nwodibo Ekechukwu, has been relieved of his appointment.
He has been replaced by the former Commissioner of Police in charge of Kogi State and also the immediate past Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu.
Ojukwu supervised the recent governorship elections in Kogi State. He was, however, redeployed after the elections.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu has described as "totally misleading, false, inciting and uncalled for", reports in some sections of the media alluding to the fact that Northern Governors during their last meeting in Kaduna defended Fulani herdsmen linked with wreaking havoc on communities in several parts of the country.
In an interview with journalists in Makurdi on Tuesday, Abounu said at no point did the governors defend the killings or the killers, adding that the forum condemned the actions of the terror groups operating as herdsmen.
He said it was unfortunate that the statement by the chairman of the forum that condemned the activities of the terrorists is being misconstrued as defending the Fulani people.
"We never defended the Fulani or any group that involved itself in criminality", he said, adding that what the chairman said was that it was wrong to generalise criminality.
Reprieve came for the victims of the attack on Tuesday as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) donated a trailer load of relief materials to Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area.
Presenting the relief materials to the community, the Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mohammad Sani Sidi, who sympathised with the people, said the Federal Government shares in their grief and pains.
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