House Member-elect Seeks End to C’River, Ebonyi Communities Crises
Worried by the lingering communal crises between the Adadama people of Abi Local Government Area (LGA) of Cross River State and their neighbours of Amegwu, Ikwo LGA of Ebonyi State, the member-elect of the House of Representatives for Abi/ Yakurr Federal Constituency in Cross River State, Dr Alex Egbona has again taken steps to end the crisis.
He has also called on the Adadama people to remain calm and avoid reprisals, as he was relentless in the moves to see to a permanent end to the crisis.
Already, some of the natives are said to have relocated from Adadama to either Calabar or some neighbouring communities, following constant attacks on them by their Ebonyi neighbours.
Last week, Egbona held a meeting with his colleague who represents the Ezza South/ Ikwo Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State, Mr. Ogbee Lazarus Nweru, the second in a row since he won the election into the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
At the meeting, the duo agreed to escalate the matter through consultation with their state governors, so that the major stakeholders can be made to sign peace deals. They had also made efforts to trace the root cause of the clashes.
Coming out of the recent meeting, Egbona said it was worrisome that the people were killing themselves from time to time, not minding how precious the life of their neighbours were.
According to him, there was an urgent need to end the clashes, so that development could get to them. The legislator-elect vowed to put in all within his disposal to ensure that peace returned to the warring communities.
He said he had already begun the peace processes through discussions with his state deputy governor and expressed the hope that the efforts would yield results.
“I have met twice with my colleagues from Ebonyi State. I feel sad each time I hear that crisis had erupted in the area. What we are doing now is to try to identity the root cause of this crisis and then we will move from there to solving the problem.
“The last time I met with Hon. Nweru in his office in Abuja, we tried to trace the historical background of the crisis and discussed the latest clash which I understand has already resulted in the killing of some persons.
“Immediately we are inaugurated, we will take this effort to the next level. We will engage all the stakeholders. What we want to achieve is permanent peace and I am so sure that it can be achieved.
“I regret that our people are being killed and property destroyed. Some have had to flee their homes. This cannot be allowed to continue. That is why I am calling on the federal and state governments to treat victims of this communal crisis from my constituency as IDPs,” he explained.
“A good number of them have lost their sources of livelihood. The government needs to do something about the situation and give them hope. For me, I will continue to do my best in the face of daunting challenges,” he added.