Effium People Call On Izzi Elders To Caution Gov Nwifuru, Resist Creation Autonomous Communities

Alex Odeh

The natives of Effium autonomous community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have called on elders of Izzi clan in Ebonyi State to caution their son, Governor Francis Nwifuru over forcefully taken taken their God-given land from them.

They said that they are not going to watch Governor Francis Nwifuru forcefully create autonomous communities for strangers in Effium Land.

A statement issued and signed by the President-General of Effium Town Union, Dr. Agena James, barely twenty-four hours after governor Nwifuru pronounced the creation of four autonmous communities in Effium, gave reasons why they boycotted the visit of the governor to Effium autonomous community.

He said the Effium indigenes were going to employ all legal means to resist the creation of the autonomous communities.

According to him, the actions of governor Nwifuru were inimical to the restoration of peace in the war torn Effium autonomous community that has been bedeviled with crisis for over four years with lives and properties worth billions of naira destroyed.

Agena said, “Yesterday, the governor of Ebonyi State, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru came to Effium and made a pronouncement that part of Effium land has been ceded to strangers.

“His coming yesterday to Effium was not welcomed. We did not welcome him to the event, that is why we boycotted his visit to our land. His decision was not welcomed.

“Therefore, we are going to employ every legal means to resist it. We are going to stop him from executing the decision and his order. We are going to resist it with all our effort and might.

He said such action was alien to the people of the area and was uncalled for.

“It is never heard anywhere in any part of the world where the land that belongs to the indigenes will be forcefully taken from them and given to strangers that lived in that land.

“So, it is uncalled for. Except he is forcefully taken the land that was given to us by God, that was left for us by our ancestors to the strangers.

“What he did today was evidently clear that he is using his power to collect what belongs to us and that we are going to resist with every sense of it. We are going to resist it to the later. There is a saying that he who goes to equity must come with clean hands.

“If he is going to mediate in this crisis, he must come with clean hands. He should be fair and just. But his decision is unfair, unjust and there is nothing like equity in his action. For that reason, we are going to resist it. We the Effium people will not allow it to stand.

“We are calling on the international community to come to our aid because the governor is using his power to collect from us what was given to us by God and Effium people will never allow it. We want the governor to get this message. It is never done anywhere. We want the governor to hear it. Effium people will never allow it to stand.

“He should go back to the drawing board and reconsider his decision. We are equally calling on the elders of Izzi to call their son to order to reconsider his decision on this matter. It is uncalled for and it can never bring peace in Effium land. It will rather aggravate the crisis.

“This is not how to make peace. This is bringing more flames into the buring fire. We have also continued to reiterate that anything short from the implementation of the recommendation of the peace committee headed by the Emeritus Bishop Okoro is totally not acceptable to the people of Effium.

“We can never accept the report of the committee chaired by Franklyn Ogbuewu who is an inlaw to the Ezza people, hence, he is an interest party in the crisis in Effium. He is biased, unfair and unjust in his decisions”, Agena noted.