Arewa Youths Disown Statement Blaming Imo Govt over Attack

By John Shiklam in Kaduna

The Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA), has dissociates itself from a statement blaming the Imo state government for the attack on the house of a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Addressing a press conference yesterday  in Kaduna, chairman of the group, Aliyu Sani, said the fake statement was issued by a group masquerading as AYA.

Sani said: “Anyone conversant with our character and activities know that we couldn’t have uttered such an accusation, knowing fully well our relationship with the Imo State Government which has treated the people of the North resident in Imo very well and which to the best of our knowledge has performed creditably.”

According to him, the authors of that “satanic verses” are impostors who sought to hide under the name of Arewa Youths to cause confusion and instability in Imo state.

“A closer look at the characters under reference would reveal that one of closest aides of a former governor of the state, Kingdom Okere was among those imposters”, the group alleged.

Sani said: “The reference by Emeka Ihedioha to the Supreme Court judgment which recovered the stolen mandate of Hope Uzodimma from him has clearly linked him to the insecurity that has been rocking Imo state since 2020.”According to the group, “Ihedioha is not only bitter that the law caught up with him, he is jealous of the monumental achievements recorded by the charismatic governor of Imo state.

“It was not long that Ihedioha was caught on taped phone conversation where he said that Hope Uzodimma and Imo State will never experience peace until he gets back to power.

“His threats were not new because his then Deputy, Gerald Irona had openly declared that they will make the state ungovernable for Uzodimma.

“Irona hails from the violence prone Oguta Local Government Area of the state. PDP officials had also echoed this threat severally.

“So, nobody is in doubt as to who has been perpetrating the violence in the state.”

The group maintained that “since Ihedioha is still laying claim to the fraudulent victory that saw him illegally occupying Imo Government House for six months, time has come for the police to arrest all those involved in the electoral heist of 2019 and let them face the law.”

The AYA called on the Inspector General of Police to, without further delay, arrest and prosecute Ihedioha for the electoral fraud of 2019 and for allegedly sponsoring insecurity in the state since 2020.

Sani said in spite of the politically contrived insecurity in the state, Governor Ozidinma has performed well.

“Where Ihedioha failed to build a single road in six months, Uzodimma has built more than 100 roads in three years including other signature projects in education, health, agriculture and urban renewal and youth empowerment”, the group said.