From Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki
Ahead of the 2023 polls, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Ebonyi State Council, Comrade Tony Nwizi has urged the people of the state to embrace the spirit of equity, fairness and social justice in their gubernatorial seat.
Comrade Nwizi who stated this on Tuesday noted that Ebonyi has different major clans occupying the three senatorial districts of the state.
The major clans in Ebonyi, according to him, are "not limited to Izzi, Ohaukwu, Ezza, Ikwo, Ishielu, Ohaozara, Onicha, Ivo, Afikpo and Edda."
He said, "these major clans have peculiar cultural values that they hold on high standards," stressing that each of them "craves to become the Governor of the state one day and to fulfil these yearnings is to draw a programme that will enable this arrangement without rancour and acrimony."
He recalled that "this was done by our founding fathers through what is called the Charter of Equity. This Charter of Equity has provided that power should rotate among the three senatorial districts to avoid the more populated clans hijacking the governance like what is happening in other states, especially in Benue where some major ethnic groups have held the seat of power for a long time ago."
"In 1999, the 1st Executive Governor of Ebonyi state came from Ebonyi North senatorial zone, in 2007, it went to the Central. These two zones have the population to withhold the power for as long as they want without letting it go to the South zone, but in the spirit of Equity, justice and fairness, the North and Central decided to galvanize a strong force against all odds and ceded power to the south in the same spirit of Equity in 2015.
"Now that the South have completed their 8 years as Governor, the only reasonable thing to do the to return to the status quo and begin from the North again. This happens that way, the power will touch the different clans enumerated above, one after the other. Then, there will be peace and harmony. Equity begets peace and that is what we are agitating for."
He added: "The implications of thwarting this arrangement are that there will be struggles to clinch the power and the syndrome of winner takes all will set in. The clans in the majority will always conspire. Those other clans in the loseity will lose out because the gentleman agreement has been destroyed.
"So, for the prevalent peace in Ebonyi State to sustain, let the power rotation among the three senatorial zones prevail. His Excellency Governor David Nweze Umahi is a product of Equity and has sacrificed so much to sustain this position.
"Let all eschew hatred, bickering, infighting and inordinate desires for power that will jeopardize the future of our generation."
