.
Mr. Arimokwu who
frowned at the attitude of some political leader in Ika South who have only
succeeded in creating divisions in the local government all in the name that
they are pursing an Agbor Agenda, said the entire people of Ika South should
always seek for peace and reconciliation as a better means of solving their
problems rather than engaging themselves in unnecessary criticisms and counter
criticisms in the pages of newspaper.
According to
Arimokwu, “I am surprise to read reports from our community tabloids by some
persons that there was an Agbor Agenda in the last April elections. Right from
the beginning in Ika South politics, there have never been anything like Agbor
Agenda, adding that those who claimed to be fighting for Agbor interest are
merely seeking their own personal interest and that they should stop pretending.
“We all know that
Agbor was at the fore front of Ika politics in the past and had over time
groomed politicians, some of whom today are great politicians in other
communities outside Agbor, and have over time used their good offices to better
the lives of their people, that is why they are growing politically”, he said.
If politicians
from other communities are doing well, Mr. Arimokwu pointed out that they
should be supported because many Agbor sons and daughters have occupied several
positions in government as members Federal House of Representatives and State House of Assembly, Council
Chairmen, board members, among others but they all failed to use the
opportunities they had to develop Agbor kingdom.
On the just
concluded State House of Assembly
election in Ika South, where it was said that Agbor politicians that
contested in the election lost out
because there is no unity among the Agbor people, the Ika South
Landlords/landladies chairman posited that the State House of Assembly seat is
for the entire local government, stressing that anybody that wins irrespective
whether the person is an Agbor man or Abavo man should be supported.
In his words, “I
want to say that people are just sentimental when they that were is no hope for
the Agbor people because an Abavo man is in the State House of Assembly. There
is hope because Ika South belongs to everybody and anyone can emerge to
represent the local government in the State House of Assembly whether an Agbor
man or Abavo man”. He added that all citizens of the local government have equal opportunity to go
and contest for elective positions in the field , as that is the only
democratic way of choosing leaders not by creating unnecessary
tribal sentiments, saying that after all, an Agbor has gone to the House two
times without achieving anything for his people.
If it is
generally accepted that our political leaders have in their previous representations performed below
expectations, what are the bench marks used in measuring political office holders
performance in Ika South, Mr. Arimokwu asked. “It does not matter the number of
times someone goes to the state House of Assembly or National Assembly provided
the people are in support of the person”, he said.
Mr. Vincent
Arimokwu who is also the Public Relation Officer, Ika Landlords/Landladies Association stated that
all the persons that preached the Agbor Agenda in the past general elections
were all in different political parties
with different candidates, maintaining that if actually there was anything like
Agbor Agenda, they should have called for a general forum where it will be
discussed who and who will be voted for in the elections. “People should not
just sit down and be apportioning blames unnecessarily because we are in a
democratic society where everybody is entitled to his or her own idea. People
should stop pointing accusing fingers at our traditional institution, because
as citizens of Nigeria, they have the right to exercise their own franchise”,
Mr. Arimokwu opined.
Speaking further,
he said for peace to reign and for the Agbor kingdom to move forward, Agbor
people should work as one indivisible body, not a situation where some few politicians will be working for their own
pockets and at the same time pretend to
be fighting for the Agbor course. He added that a general meeting of
different stakeholders and interested
groups in Agbor kingdom should be summoned where matters of great interest to
the community will be discussed rather than discussing it in the pages of
newspapers. He called on all the good
people of Ika South to support whoever that wins in the general election
whether at the state or Federal government level to bring development because
they are not there for themselves alone but for of the entire Ika people. “ I
know that or political officeholders are not going to discriminate against
anybody. They have won the elections and everybody should support them, for if we are
bringing tribal sentiments, bitterness and rancour into the politics of Ika
South, it will not help us to develop”, Mr. Arimokwu declared.
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