Obiageli Ezekwesili, the former Minister who loudly protested a planned demolition exercise in Lagos, has ignored an announcement by the Abia State government of its readiness to demolish over 160 buildings in the state to enable the expansion of major access roads, including the main entry road leading into Umuahia from the Enugu- Port Harcourt expressway.
Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, said the demolition was necessary to complete the road upgrades. His announcement has sparked anxiety in the state as residents dread being rendered homeless given the state’s long history of demolition without compensation and Otti’s poor start and his failure to meet basic government obligations.
Some have come online to protest the decision, hoping to gain the attention and support of self-proclaimed activists, notably Obiageli Ezekwesili. But she and her ilk have looked the other way. Critics say her refusal to address the issue, despite protesting the same in Lagos with baseless insinuations of ethnic targeting, is due to her partisan bias for the Labour Party, the governing party in Abia State.
Additionally, Ezekwesili has been previously criticized for her docility on issues pertaining to the South East, her home region, whereas she is loud with her criticism and activism over issues elsewhere, particularly Lagos State. She has refused to condemn the proscribed terror group, IPOB, over its arbitrary and rampant killings and abductions in the region.