5 Abia, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom clans push for ENOA state

The people of Etche, Ndoki, Oyigbo, Omuma and Asa clans scattered within Abia, Akwa-Ibom and Rivers states have come together to make a demand for a new state.

South East Trust reports that the name of the new state as demanded by the five clans is ENOA state.

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Addressing newsmen in Aba, Abia State, the Coordinator of ENOA state movement,  Dr. Dike Onwubiko, said the name is an acronym derived from the initial letters of the clans that make up the proposed state.

Onwubiko, who presented the issue of ENOA state during the South-East Zonal Public hearing of the review of the 1999 Constitution held in Owerri, said the move for the creation of the state has been on since 2013 and was also presented during the 2014 National Conference.

He said the demand for ENOA is a necessity following the marginalisation and neglect the people of Etche, Ndoki, Oyigbo, Omuma and Asa have been facing in Rivers, Abia and Akwa-Ibom where they’re regarded as minorities.

Onwubiko said the people of Etche, Omuma, Oyigbo, Ndoki and Asa are of the same ancestral origin, who were balkanized into diverse subgroups of three states.

“Before then, all of us had one place where we assembled and that was at Obehie where we had our magistrate court.

“We have everything in common – our dialect, mode of dressing and culture. We have everything in common including the same ancestry.

“Today, in Abia, we are a minority, in Akwa-Ibom we’re minority and in Rivers State we’re also a minority. Remaining as a minority in three different states has not helped us,” he said.

Dr. Ikechuckwu Ajuzieogu, the Secretary General, Asa Development Union and one of the proponents for the creation of ENOA state said the proposed state if created will be economically viable.