Ohaneze Youth Council gives northern governors 21 days to act against Arewa youths

PAN-Igbo umbrella body the Ohaneze Youth Council (OYC) has given the Northern Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NNGF) a 21 day ultimatum to take drastic action against the youth wing of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) over its recent threats.

Over recent weeks, Nigeria's numerous ethnic groups have been at loggerheads as a debate about how to share the nation's oil wealth at the National Conference degenerated into a war of words. In the heat of the debate, the Arewa Youth Development Foundation (AYDF) called for the dissolution of Nigeria and asked all southerners living in northern Nigeria to return home.

Heating the polity up further, the AYDF said all Igbo traders with investments in northern Nigeria should be prepared to forfeit their capital when they leave. In a bitter response, the OYC has called on the governors of Nigeria's 19 northern states to take action against the youth group, as its pronouncements placed the lives and properties of Igbos in the north in danger.

Among other things, the OYC called on northern governors to reassure Igbos in their states of their safety. OYC president, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said that the silence of the NNGF in the midst of such threats was dangerous and warned that at the expiration of the ultimatum, it would be forced to take other appropriate actions.

Mr Isiguzoro said:“The Ohanaeze youth wing rejoices with our Muslim brothers on the occasion of this year’s Eid El Fitr celebration. In the spirit of Sallah, we enjoin them to promote peaceful co-existence by imbibing the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

“In the same vein, we ask the NNGF under the leadership of Dr Babangida Muazu Aliyu of Niger State to reassure Ndi-Igbo domiciled in the north of their safety and their continued preparedness to ensure the safety of lives and properties of all Nigerians in their respective states.

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