Chief Julius Oji, also known as Ochiri Edda, is a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain who has asked Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi to stop making statements that incite violence against members of the Edda clan living in the state’s Afikpo South Local Government Area.
Oji, one of Edda Identity’s conveners, claims that Umahi’s recent statements, in which he stated that the clan felt threatened, were capable of igniting conflict within the communities.
At a public event in the state on Wednesday, Umahi said, among other things, that the people of Edda “didn’t do well” in the Presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, 2023, and challenged them to do “whatever” they could to ensure his ruling All Progressives Congress wins the March 18 governorship election.
However, the steadfast PDP member said in a statement on Thursday that the governor did not have the right to force residents of the area to vote against their will on March 18, claiming that Umahi had squandered the years he spent leading the state.
“Our people have been in perpetual pain since you assumed office as governor of Ebonyi State in the last seven years and ten months,” the statement read.
“In Ebonyi State, there have been a lot of killings, threats, violence, bloodshed, and other crises while you were the Chief Security Officer.
“The latest killings in Ekoli Edda people group on the 26th December, 2022, one idea could humble you, yet you came to Edda, on Wednesday, compromising brutality.
“We can’t keep quiet any longer because we have had enough of these unwanted killings, intimidation, and bloodshed.” Give the Edda people the freedom to select their preferred ruler and representative.
“The Edda people are well-known warriors and cannot be persuaded or intimidated in any way to change their vote or change their mandate in the upcoming election on Saturday.
“Go to your old neighborhood of Uburu and decide for them. During the most recent elections, which took place on February 25, we were informed that although you suffered a terrible defeat, you used violence in order to win. Our people will resist all of your ploys to ensure that the people’s choices prevail.
“Our citizens have spoken. You, your party, and everything you stand for have been rejected by them. Ebonyians have never had it this awful before you came as lead representative. While you stood on the podium to call on God in an effort to confuse and deceive our people, Ebonyians have endured a wide range of calamities, including murder, intimidation, and bloodshed.
Our people want good government, but you stood in their way to keep them in pain forever.
“Your video outburst and threats to my life and person have been heard by Edda people and I. I am making use of this medium to inform the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, the State Security Services, and other security agencies of Governor David Umahi’s threats and incitemental statements regarding the Edda people.