Presidency speaks on Buhari’s alleged marginalisation of South-East

The Presidency has downplayed claims of marginalisation against the South East region by President Muhammadu Buhari.
It insisted that Buhari had been fair to indigenes of the South East.

Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, stated this in an article he wrote to coincide with Buhari’s two-day visit to Ebonyi and Anambra states, which would start today.
According to Shehu, “On the basis of projects alone, no one should have any reason to doubt the good intentions of the President towards the South-East.
“Even if some of the people may not support the government, they cannot deny that their region has got a fair deal from President Buhari.
“The President, in his conscience, is clear on all fronts that he has been fairr to the region and will continue to encourage the efforts of each state as it strives to excel in one endeavour or another.”

The presidential aide noted that the Federal Government’s support of Ebonyi’s rice-growing schemes testified to a successful partnership between the centre and the region.
“Buhari’s visit to Ebonyi and Anambra was meant to show support to a governor who had done so much in promoting the President’s policy on food self-sufficiency and to endorse his party’s candidate for the governorship election.
“The President’s visit would go further in soothing frayed nerves and provide an opportunity to listen more to the cries crimes the people of the region.
“Had previous governments discharged their responsibilities to the region and to the country at large, the nation might not have been in a situation of tension and anger leading to violence and secessionist agitations,” he said.