Igbos lose $7bn to Boko Haram insurgency – Ohakim

The former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Oha­kim, has disclosed that the Igbos resident
in the North lost about $7 bil­lion to Boko Haram insur­gency, noting that since the President-elect, Gen. Mu­hammadu Buhari, assured Nigerians before his election that Boko Haram will be a thing of the past as soon as he is elected, he should keep to that promise.
Ohakim, who briefed news­men in his office in Abuja, on behalf of the Igbo Conver­sational Group (ICG), while congratulating Buhari, said the group believes he has what it takes to live up to expectations in this regard so that Ndi Igbo can go back to their businesses in the affected areas having lost over $7 billion to insurgency.
The former governor, who is the chief convener of the group briefed alongside Nze Chidi Duru, Bishop Blaise Iwuogo and Chike Madue­kwe, and also commended President Goodluck Jona­than’s comportment and deep sense of accommodation.
He said, “Nigerians will for­ever remember him for stead­fastly upholding democratic ethics and allowing space for every player.
“President Jonathan came to power when the nation was in a big quagmire and it is to his credit that the country had a smooth transition follow­ing the sudden demise of his predecessor, the late President Umaru, Yar’Adua. We salute him for his courage in conced­ing defeat while asking that he should remain available for the country to tap from his experi­ence,” he said.
Ohakim also urged the Pres­ident-elect to keep to promises he made through a delegation he sent to conversational meet­ing in Enugu on March 21, 2015, led by Prof. Pat Utomi, including the creation of two additional states in the South-east to correct the imbalance in the country.
Ohakim said this was one of Buhari’s campaign promises, adding that the president-elect had assured it would be one of his priorities and that he would do everything constitutionally possible to lobby for the cre­ation of new states.
“This issue was dealt with elaborately in the earlier state­ment by ICG and needs no emphasis here. Happily, it is one of the issues the President-elect promised to look into during his campaigns,” he said.
The former governor said, “agreed that conceding to demands made at the eve of an election is a common trait among politicians, it needs no exaggeration to state that the President-elect is a politician of a rare mould.”