IPOB attack on Ekweremadu in Germany shameful – Reps minority leader

By Christiana Ekpa

The Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Toby Okechukwu, has come hard on the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, for the assault on the former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, in Nurnberg, Germany, describing it as a show of shame and ingratitude.
In a statement, which he released from Germany, Hon. Okechukwu, who accompanied Ekweremadu to the event, said he was particularly saddened that such magnitude of indiscretion was meted out to “a humble, but rugged fighter, who has practically stock out his neck in defence of Ndigbo and was very instrumental to securing the release of IPOB leader, Nnamadi Kanu”.
“The claim by IPOB that they attacked Ekweremadu for instigating Python Dance flies in the face of logic as the Distinguished Senator was one of the vocal voices against military siege to the South East as well as the extrajudicial crackdown on unarmed IPOB protesters. This is a man whose official guest house was raided by security agents in 2017 in purported search for phantom IPOB arms and ammunitions.
“IPOB’s conduct is ingratitude of the highest degree, especially given the roles which even IPOB admitted in a statement of gratitude back then that Ekweremadu played in securing the release of Nnamdi Kanu in”, the lawmaker stated.
Hon. Okechukwu, who represents Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency, explained that Ekweremadu was not only in Germany to attend cultural festival and convention, but also to engage Ndigbo in Germany on developments back home and also network for foreign investments in the South East boost the region’s economy and create employment for our youth.
“Ahead of that event, Senator Ekweremadu had already held fruitful private meetings with 10 prospective investors arranged by illustrious Igbo sons and daughters in Europe, particularly Germany, who were eager to invest in Nigeria, specifically in the South East.
“Again, one would have expected that the exposure to Europe would have exposed the misguided fellows in IPOB to modes of civic engagement and responsibility, but the reverse was apparently the case.
“Their inability to maximise the opportunity of Senator Ekweremadu’s presence to engage meaningfully and get properly attuned to developments back home signifies the absence of reason and depth. It exposes the entire agitation as ‘full of sound and fury signifying nothing,’ he added.