Our 22 years loyalty to PDP unprofitable, Enugu traditional rulers tell Atiku

Traditional Rulers in Enugu State have told the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, that their support and loyalty for the party over the past 22 years have only been rewarded with massive unemployment and insecurity.

The PDP have been winning the presidential election, governorship and other elections in Enugu State since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.

But the traditional rulers told Atiku who is again asking for their votes as the candidate of his party during his visit to the state that they have not been duly rewarded for their loyality to the party.

“After more than two decades of our support for the PDP, Enugu State has only unemployment, insecurity, dehumanisation of her indigenes by law-enforcement officers and the resultant youth restiveness to show for it,” the traditional rulers said in a statement by their Chairman, Igwe Lawrence Agubuzu, said in the statement.

According to them, Enugu has recorded cases of human rights abuses by law enforcement operatives among others in spite of the support of the people of the state for PDP in the past 22 years.

“A factual and undiluted political history of our country’s present republic will teach that the political party known as the PDP was midwifed by eminent and patriotic Nigerians known as the G-34.

“They did this under the leadership of the Second Republic vice-president, His Excellency, Dr Alex Ekwueme, an indigene of the Southeast geopolitical zone.

“Since the inception of PDP, its presidential candidates have always been warmly welcomed by us each time they came hunting for votes.

“PDP presidential candidates invariably made mouth-watering promises to our subjects who consequently voted massively for them.

“After more than two decades of our support for the PDP, Enugu State has only unemployment, insecurity, dehumanisation of her indigenes by law-enforcement officers and the resultant youth restiveness to show for it.

“It is against this backdrop that we welcome you on this courtesy visit and predictably we have received a sumptuous dish of often-repeated promises from you.

“If our late brother, Prof. Chinua Achebe, were to be here, he would have simply advised you to go and count your teeth with your tongue.

“Everything considered, our hope of a better Nigeria compels us to remain engaged and pray for peaceful, free, fair and credible presidential election.

“We pray that the election produces the best candidate, irrespective of his political party”, the statement read.

Igwe Agubuzu, Nigeria’s former ambassador to Zambia and Malawi is also the Chairman, Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers.