The Ibom Pulpit

AK Deputy Governor Wants Northern Leaders To Do More On Boko Haram July 13, 2012

Obong Nsima Ekere, Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State

The Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Nsima Ekere, has urged Northern leaders to show more sincerity and commitment in addressing the menace of Boko Haram insurgency.

Mr. Ekere, who spoke on behalf of Governor Godswill Akpabio, at the conference of the Southern Nigeria Peoples’ Assembly in Uyo on Thursday, expressed dismay that the reactions of some Northern leaders have not been encouraging and definitive in condemning the issue.

He described the conference as historic and a benchmark in the efforts to renew the nation.

The Deputy Governor lauded the Southern leaders for coming together to take the bull by the horns and speak with one accord on the country’s problems especially the insurgency.

Mr. Ekere argued that the fight against the insurgency was a war between good and evil.

“The bombs explode everyday and kill our people,” he said. “But each explosion is a call for us not to take the urgency of the situation for granted. We must act to stop these brigands or they might stop us. The war raging around us is between the forces of love and the forces of hatred. It is between those who love life and those who love death. It is between those who want to build and those who want to destroy. It is between good and evil.”

The Deputy Governor, however, insisted that in fighting the insurgency, the path of honour must be followed, stressing that “we must not allow the wicked people to lure us into a web of wickedness where we trade evil for evil.”

The Ijaw National Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, thanked Governor Akpabio for allowing the conference to be held in Uyo and commended the Southern leaders for coming together in courage for the peace of the country.

A First Republic Aviation Minister, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, called for a National Conference, not a Sovereign National Conference, that will be fully representative of all interests and every arm of the society to sit in frankness and mutual respect and fashion out a fair and balanced equitable basis for a Federation.

INEMESIT INA UYO