19th August, 2019
The South-East APC Young Progressives Forum has described the attack on former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu as shameful.
Ekweremadu claimed that members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) attacked him in Nuremberg, Germany on August 17.
Mr Paschal Otimkpu, Chairman of the group who made this known in a statement to newsmen on Monday in Onitsha, also described the assault as “an embarrassment to the Igbo nation and Nigeria”.
“It is also shamefully pathetic that an event, which was nobly put together by the Ndi-Igbo community which members make up the majority of Nigerians living in Germany, ended up in such a disgraceful manner.
“Obviously, this is not how to pay a man who has contributed his quota to the development of Igbo land and Nigeria at large.
“Most worrisome and inconceivable was that the attackers chose a great occasion for celebrating and showcasing our rich cultural heritage` Iri-ji` – New Yam Festival — to exhibit such unbecoming conduct in the name of agitation.
“We urge our fellow youths of South-East extraction and every right-thinking Nigerian to join in the condemnation.”
The group noted that the country was currently going through challenges, including terrorism and kidnappings which required collective responsibility of all.
It, therefore, said that resorting to mob action and venting the spleen on leaders will rather create more problems and a vacuum that would leave Igbo and by extension, Nigerian leaders helpless.
“Irrespective of political difference, Senator Ekweremadu is an outstanding and unpretentious Igbo leader, who deserves better treatment than he received,” the group said.