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At post-election peace summit, Buhari restates commitment to security

By Charles Ogugbuaja and Collins Osuji, Owerri
03 May 2019   |   4:14 am
President Muhammadu Buhari has restated his commitment to the security of lives and property, urging Nigerians not to be demoralised...

President Muhammadu Buhari

• Igbo, most misunderstood group in Nigeria, says Okorocha
• Don’t collude with governor to loot Imo, PDP tells monarchs

President Muhammadu Buhari has restated his commitment to the security of lives and property, urging Nigerians not to be demoralised by the security challenges in the country.

Declaring open the post-election peace summit organised by the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN) in Owerri, Imo State, yesterday, the president said he was irrevocably committed to what he swore, urging monarchs from the six geo-political zones to spread the gospel of peace in their various communities.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, represented Buhari at the event.

Security and tolerance, Buhari maintained, must be a business of all, describing peace as the pivot to the country’s unity.

Regretting communal clashes in parts of the country, he urged the monarchs to do more to curb the trend.

The occasion was attended by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar; Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye; chairman, South East Council of Traditional Rulers and Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe; among others.

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo, in his speech, regretted that the Igbo were the most misunderstood and misrepresented ethnic group.

Commending the monarchs for honouring his invitation to the summit, he told them that his opponents misinterpret his belief in national unity as pandering to the north; hence the nickname ‘Okoroawusa’ (meaning Hausa youth).

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo has advised traditional rulers not to partake in the alleged looting of the state’s treasury by the outgoing government of Okorocha.

The secretary, Ray Emeana, stated that Okorocha masterminded the post-election peace summit yesterday for selfish reasons.

According to the party, the governor wanted to use the reverend traditional institution to persuade the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release his certificate of return as elected senator for Imo West.

The statement read in part: “The Peoples Democratic Party, Imo State, is not deceived; checks have revealed that NCTRN has nothing to do with the so-called summit.

“This gathering is nothing but a decoy to further loot the resources of the state and use the summit to launder [Okorocha’s] battered image, hoping that the presidency and the Northern cabal will weigh in and arm-twist INEC to release a result procured under duress as the senator-elect of Imo West.

“Unfortunately, this scam, like many others in the last one week, will fall flat. Imo people and indeed Nigerians have rejected Okorocha and what he stands for.”

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