IPoB: South East NASS caucus condemn disruption of ongoing WAEC in region

Members of the South East Caucus of the National Assembly has condemned the disruption of the ongoing Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in some parts of the South East, particularly the incident at Comprehensive Secondary School, Nkume, Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State, where the English examination organised by the West Africa Examination Council, WAEC, on Monday, September 13, 2021, was ruthlessly scuttled by armed men, who chased away the students, teachers, and examiners before setting ablaze motorcycles belonging to the teachers.

This was disclosed in a communique issued at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the caucus held at the residence of the former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu in Apo legislative quarters, Abuja, on Wednesday, September 15, 2021.

The caucus said the people of the region had always cherished and encouraged learning from the ages and fully appreciated the place of education in the liberation and enlightenment of the human mind and the socio-economic and political emancipation of a people.

The caucus equally condemned the incessant killings in the South East and called on the security agencies to unravel the culprits behind these wicked acts and ensure that they were brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others.

They noted with delight that IPoB has called off the Monday sit-at-home order and resolved to “ensure that nobody uses them as façades to bring ruination on Igbo land” and called on the people to go about their lawful businesses.

The caucus enjoined
governors in the zone and the security agencies to rebuild confidence in the people by not only ensuring the security of life and property but also ensuring that “our people feel safe as they undertake their legitimate businesses.”

The caucus elaborately discussed the issue of Mazi Nnamdi and resolved to intervene.

They resolved to set up a committee to constructively interface with relevant stakeholders, the Federal Government and its relevant agencies towards finding a political solution and keep Ndigbo abreast of developments in this regard.

They appealed to their people not to allow anyone to destroy the South East region, adding that the post-war South East was not built through government patronage, but largely by the sheer determination and sacrifices of the people, who refused to resign to fate or bow their heads in defeat.

“It is in Igbo land that you easily find hospitals, schools, roads, and other social amenities built by individual or communal efforts of the people, home and abroad, through the instruments of the town unions and other community organisations such as the age grades, Umuada, etc. The result is the comparative transformation witnessed in every nook and cranny of Igbo land post-civil war. Therefore, as a people, we cannot begin to undermine ourselves or become our own nemesis.

“Times like these call for introspection. We must also always bear in mind that our people thrive on industry, commerce, and the informal sector. Importantly, most of our people depend on daily income. Therefore, while we must fight for our rights and legitimately express our displeasures over every form of mistreatment, injustice, and inequity, we certainly cannot afford to be the proverbial lizard that ruined his mother’s funeral. Anything that threatens Igbo businesses, the peace, security, and stability of the South East threatens our very existence as a people. Consequently, bearing in mind that if we allow cracks in the wall, lizards will invade our home, we must all pull together as one people to discourage and resist any tendencies and actions, within or without, which pollute our business environments or encourages anarchy and instability in our region,” parts of the communique read.

The caucus also resolved to join hands with other patriotic Nigerians across regional, religious, political, and ethnic divides to reconstruct a federal system where their rights, happiness, and prosperity and those of the unborn generations were guaranteed.