A socio-political group, the Ndigbo Youth Parliament, has condemned the statement credited to the Senator representing Kogi West, Senator Smart Adeyemi, in which the Senator called Abia state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, a drunkard.
In a statement made available to Blueprint in Abuja Thursday, signed by Speaker, Ndigbo Youth Parliament (NYP), Rt. Hon. Rikki Chichedu Nwajiofor, the group said that “it is quite denigrating, an insult to the good people of Abia and Ndigbo at large, uncalled for, and highly condemnable, that a sitting Senator should address an Executive Governor as a drunkard and a champagne drinking governor”.
The statement reads: “It is quite disappointing to all the right thinking Nigerians, especially to the youth constituency of this great nation, that our highly hallowed chambers of Nigeria’s Senate has been turned to a rendezvous for bigots to dish out unguarded and irrational statements.
“The unguarded statement of Senator Smart Adeyemi, the Senator representing Kogi West, is quite denigrating and an insult to the good people of Abia and Ndigbo at large. It is uncalled for, and highly condemnable, that a sitting Senator should address an Executive Governor as ‘a drunkard and a champagne drinking governor’. It is disparaging and defaming to tell the entire people of Abia state that they are being governed by drunkards. This is a libellous statement geared towards humiliating the resilient Youths of Abia state, who are known for being innovative, creative and industrious.
“The good people of Abia, especially the industrious youths of Abia, have always distinguished themselves in so many fields of life, especially when it comes to making standard shoes, stylish apparels, to mention but a few. It is a glaring fact that for people to thrive in their various endeavours, conducive atmosphere and good policies must have been provided for them by their government.
“Suffice it to say that, if there are no good policies put in place and a conducive atmosphere not availed for the good people of Abia, how can they thrive tremendously to the extent of being referred to as the ‘China of Nigeria’?
“Can drunkards make good policies and avail conducive atmosphere for the people they govern to thrive? If drunkards can actually achieve such a feat for their people, then they are quite better than most leaders who ‘claim to be sober’ yet their people are not enjoying dividends of democracy and good leadership.
“It is more disappointing and quite shocking to note that such an irrational and unguarded statement could emanate from a lettered Senator, who once chaired a revered union, NUJ. I wonder what he intended to achieve by that imprudent and ill-cautious statement, which has sparked a national outrage.
“Senator Adeyemi should not be oblivious of the fact that spoken words are impossible to retrieve because, in the words of Winston Churchill, ‘we are masters of the unsaid words but slaves of those we let slip out’. The only remedy to an injudicious and misguided statement is to atone and placate for it.
“Hence, Ndigbo Youth demand that Senator Adeyemi should tender an unreserved apology to the Governor of Abia state, the entire good people of Abia and to Ndigbo at large. We kept silent for these past few days thinking that, as a lettered Senator, he should have realized his blunder cum gaffe and pacified the outrage his unguarded statement had caused.
“Unfortunately, he is yet to realize the denigrating nature of his statement. If within seven days Senator Adeyemi fails to apologize to Ndi Abia, Abia Governor and Ndigbo at large, Ndigbo Youth will surely revert to him.
“As the Speaker of Ndigbo Youth Parliament, I have been an advocate of peace and unity between Ndigbo Youth and the Youth of other ethnic nationalities. Ndigbo Youth Parliament believes in the sacrosanct dictum of ‘One Nigeria’. We shall frown at any person, be it from political class or the common masses that fans the embers of disunity or beats the drum of war in this great nation.”
