Youth groups in the South East have called for a review of the indiscriminate mounting of road blocks in the region by security agencies.
This is contained in a communiqué issued in Enugu on Friday at the end of a meeting between governors of the South East and the leaders of the youths in the zone.
A representative of one of the groups, who read the communiqué, Mr Uchenna Madu, said that the number of road blocks in the region and the extent of extortion on motorists, were unimaginable.
He said that the various state governors being the chief security officers in their respective domains should determine flashpoints where security check points should be mounted.
He also called for an end to all forms of discrimination on the people of the region, adding that all parts of the country needed to be treated equally and justly.
Madu, who represented the Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), expressed concern on alleged discrimination on the people from the area in the Federal Civil Service.
He also said that security in the area had been compromised due to the activities of suspected armed herdsmen who had taken over most forests in the zone.
The youth leader appealed to the Federal Government to take the necessary steps to disarm such people who destroyed farmlands and are involved in kidnap and rape.
”South East should be given the opportunity to be the president of Nigeria in 2023.
”We pledge to live and work peacefully with herders if they coexist harmoniously and in unity with farmers,” he said.
Madu said that it had become more compelling for an additional state to be created in the region to bring it at par with others.
He appealed to each state government in the region to set up a youth rehabilitation and empowerment fund.
“The Youths observed that all the major roads in Igbo land are in a deplorable state. We, therefore, request the Federal Government to approve a substantial intervention fund to complete these road projects.
“Above all, we appeal that the South East be supported to produce the next president of the country in 2023.
“The President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo will lead South East Youth representatives and other selected Igbo leaders to the presidency to deliver our demands,” Madu said.
Earlier, the Chairman, South East Governors Forum, Chief Dave Umahi, said that the forum aligned itself with the resolution reached at the end of the meeting.
