The Igbo Conscience (TIC) has wholeheartedly thrown its support behind the anti-corruption war of the President Muhammadu Buhari government.
In a communique at the end of its meeting in Lagos on Sunday, the group urged the federal government to continue the war, saying it holds the only key to the survival of the country from the misrule and rot the previous regimes brought on the country.
“We urge President Buhari not to be deterred by the fight back from corrupt politicians and interests that are bent on sabotaging the war but continue the war with added intensity as it is the only solution to the survival of the country from the present dire economic conditions,” it said in the statement, signed by group chairman Monday Ubani and Secretary Peter Claver Oparah.
“The Igbo Conscience restate that Igbo have made very rich contributions to the progress and growth of the country. That Ndigbo are core partners and stakeholders in the Nigerian polity and as such are entitled to full rights and privileges due every other critical stakeholders. But we must restate that we abhor the resort to appeal to victimhood and self pity in the quest for our rights, as some people have resorted to.”
It urged Ndigbo to strategically reclaim their political birthright by seeking correct alignment with other stakeholders and building necessary bridges across the ethnic divides in Nigeria which will guarantee their political future.
“TIC states that we believe in the unity and oneness of the Nigerian nation as that affords Ndigbo a great opportunity to excel and enhance their well known entrepreneurial skill to the fullest. We therefore disown and denounce any effort to dismember the present Nigerian federation as we insist that Igbo are better off in a united and strong Nigeria. We therefore demand for a just and equitable Nigerian polity where no one is oppressed.”
It further called on Nigerians to rally round President Muhammadu Buhari's government as it strives very hard to rescue Nigeria from the paths of misrule, corruption and ineptitude which have hobbled the country and ensured that its wealth and resources are diverted to personal coffers.
“We ask all Nigerians to support President Buhari's government as it shoulders the onerous responsibility of repositioning the country for recovery and economic growth,” the group said. “We want to state, without equivocation that having endured a horrendous wreckage and with dwindling revenues, Nigerians have no option than to embrace President Buhari's exemplary quest for honesty, probity, integrity and accountability in public office. This remains the only way Nigeria can avoid a looming disaster brought about by past corrupt and inept leadership.”