Sunny Udeh|4 January 2019
The senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba has admonish youths from Abi Local Government Area of the State to consciously work to put an end to the incessant communal conflicts in the LGA that have consumed so many lives and property, causing untold hardship to the people of the area.
Senator Ndoma-Egba made this call on Thursday 31st January in his Calabar residence during a courtesy visit on him by the Concerned Abi Youths for Peace, a group that has taken it upon itself to sensitize the youths of the communities involved in the crises on the need to sheathe their knives, drop their guns and embrace peace. The Senator who was in the company of the Director General of his Campaign Organization, Hon. Dr. Bassey Ibor, thanked the group for their noble efforts and for finding him a worthy partner to their peace building efforts. He enjoined them to take the message of peace, reconciliation, rebuilding and development back to their peers at home because those directly involved in the fighting are the youths and not the elders. He added that even if it is the elders and elites who may be sponsoring wars, if the youths decide not to carry the weapons provided to go and fight, the ignoble aim will be defeated and peace can be returned to the Bahumono and Adadama areas of the Local Government Area. Senator Ndoma-Egba insisted that development is only possible where there is peace and decried the huge toll the wars, especially in Bahumono (involving Ediba, Usumutong, Ebom and Ebijakara), have taken on the development of the area resulting in the huge infrastructure gap and declining economic productivity.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation of 30 youths, Mr. Elemi Esebonu said the group decided to visit Senator Ndoma-Egba because of his sustained involvement in the efforts to end the crises in the area. He informed the Senator that the group is made up of like-minded Abi youths drawn from the 10 political wards of Abi and their objective is to sensitize and enlighten their peers in the crisis-ridden Bahumono communities and Adadama on the need to disengage from fighting communal wars. He reported that so far, there has been minimal success but added that the signs are positive that sooner than later, there will be no youths still willing to bear arms to fight communal wars as they are being reorientated to refocus their energies to making a legitimate and sustainable livelihood for themselves. He thanked Senator Ndoma-Egba for the various meetings with Bahumono leaders aimed at resolving the disputes and enthroning peace in the area.
In a general interaction where many of the youths present spoke up their minds on issues under discussion, there was a general appreciation for the need to bring back peace to the LGA. The group thereafter unanimously stated their endorsement and support for the senatorial aspiration of Senator Ndoma-Egba as they see him as a leader who is sincere and concerned enough to partner with other stakeholders to bring about a sustainable solution to the crises in the area.
