Igbo youth groups under the aegis of Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has declared June 5 for a two million march in Abuja in support of the Senate presidency bid of Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.
The group which rose from a general meeting in Owerri, yesterday, also resolved in a communique that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should zone the Senate president to South East for fairness, equity and justice. The communique, which was signed by the President General of the Igbo youth groups, Goodluck Ibem; Secretary, Ndubuisi Uche, and Publicity Secretary, Okey Nwaoru, respectively, equally called on President Bola Tinubu to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to attend to medical treatment.
The youths, in the communique, said: “That Kanu is seriously sick and needs urgent medical treatment by his doctors who know his medical history and know better how to treat him for a better medical result. This is pertinent to help reduce youth restiveness and insecurity in the South East. That the Federal Government should declare a state of emergency on insurgency, terrorism, kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes in the nation.
“Insecurity is very important to be resolved urgently so that farmers can go back to farm to cultivate and harvest crops for human consumption. Hunger kills faster than bullets. Food security is important to sustain human existence. That, APC leadership should zone Senate president to South East p and Orji Uzor Kalu, the current chief whip, is the consensus candidate of the people. This will ensure fairness, equity and justice.”
The youth groups also urged President Tinubu to prevail on petroleum marketers to stop the arbitrary increase of fuel prices, emphasising that its effect is already causing untold hardship on the people.
“That, the sudden removal of fuel subsidy has led to hyper-inflation and increase in fuel from N240 to N700 per litre and increase in other petroleum products which has resulted to increase in prices of goods and services. Nigerians are currently facing untold hardship and we urge the president to put measures in place to stop arbitrary increase of prices of petroleum products, hoarding and other sharp practices by petroleum marketers.”
They also suggested that the Federal Government should liberalise the petroleum sector to enable more investors come into the sector to build refineries for the production of fuel and other petroleum products.
This, they noted, will lead to healthy competition and reduction of prices of petroleum products which will improve the economy.