By: Emmanuel Nlewedum
Operatives of a local vigilante, the ONELGA Security and Peace Advisory Council, OSPAC, Egi Command, Rivers State, yesterday obstructed a crucial meeting of all stakeholders, community heads and rulers of Egi Kingdom in protest of unpaid thirty one month stipends’.
The meeting which was convened by the Egi Peoples Assembly Electoral Committee led by Sir, Chukwu Shedrack was attended by Paramount Rulers, Ochi-Ohas, Chairmen of Community Development Committees (CDCs), Youths, all Heads of Institutions (EYF, EWWA, FESA, Oil and Gas Producing Families and Communities) and Egi Clan Council of Chiefs and Traditional Rulers as well as youths of the kingdom.
The Electoral Committee had invited the stakeholders for interactive forum and manifesto presentation by presidential candidates for the July 13th EPA election.
Our correspondent reports that while the opening prayer for the meeting which started at about 11:30am was ongoing, members of the local vigilante group stormed the venue in protest, displaying placards written; “EPA pay us our money you are owing us for two years and seven months. No payment, no EPA election” “EPA pay us the stipend you are owing us, the Egi OSPAC”.
Leader of OSPAC, Egi Command, Comrade Sunny Egba said the forthcoming EPA elections will not hold as scheduled if all debt owed the security outfit is not paid.
“When we started this work, they promised to be paying us stipends, thirty thousand naira monthly to atleast wash our clothes. Though they have tried to pay for a year time, but in the past 31 months, they refused paying and that’s amounting to over N90 million. The worst part of it is that they have denied owing us, and that aggravated the OSPAC personnel in Egi.
“Now that they are about doing the EPA elections, we said, how can they do the election when the money they are owing us is not yet settled. We are saying it can’t be, they should look for a means to settle us. EPA is owing us for two years and seven months.
“We were 128 when we started but in line with securing the Egi land, 21 of us lost their lives and they all died at the battlefield, now we have 107 members.
“They are our fathers, and we can’t have dispute with them. We are protesting because they annoyed us. They have promised to attend to our demands before the elections, and we are going to give them benefit of doubt to do so.
“But if at the end of the day, our demands are not met, I’m afraid, Egi communities might go back to the way it was (days of insecurity and violence) before, and the election will not hold”.
Chairman of the EPA Electoral Committee, Chukwu Shedrack pleaded with the OSPAC team to be calm assuring that the demands of the security outfit will be met.
Shedrack stated that though the task before the electoral committee was to ensure a smooth conduct of the EPA election and does not include payment of monthly stipends to OSPAC, he maintained that “issues concerning OSPAC and security of the kingdom cannot be over emphasized or be taken for granted”.
While commending the OSPAC team for demanding for their entitlement without violence, he said any acts of intimidation by the outfit on the electoral committee would be resisted and the event would go on as planned at the same venue, Obite Civic Center, Obite, in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni local government area of Rivers State.
“I have communicated with the outgoing President General of the EPA, Apostle Magnus Elemele, he has confirmed receiving a matching order to make this payments.
“One thing I noticed and commend OSPAC is that they came in here to demand for their rights without riffle, that is to say that they are not making their demand at gun point”.
The ELECO chairman however, summoned the outgoing EPA executive, the OSPAC leadership and all Heads of Institutions in Egi Kingdom for an emergency meeting to address the OSPAC demand.
