The former national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has urged the nation’s political leaders to look squarely at the issues being championed by the Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB, and address same in a bid to bring about social cohesion in the country.

This is even as the PDP chieftain noted that a good number of Igbo personalities agree with IPOB’s incessant agitation and quest for a better country in the past few years. According to him, social justice and a change in the structural configuration of the polity will go a long way in assuaging the minds of Nigerians of South-East extraction. In a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists on Sunday, Metuh argued that though imperfections may exist in the manner of the campaign, discontent in the manner the country is being run, he noted, cannot be dismissed by a wave of the hand.

The statement read in part: “Truth be told, the majority of Igbos, identify with the angst underlying the IPOB agitations. I have witnessed first hand, the strong affinity of the majority of the Igbos to the fundamental sentiments and anxieties behind the IPOB agitations. “Such anxieties require straightforward solution of social justice and genuine amends. “I earnestly plead with our elders and the elected leaders of my people to work out ways and means of addressing the IPOB issue.

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“Indeed, any perceived imperfections of the agitation should not in any way detract from the pressing need to come to terms with the deep discontent in the psyche of the average Igbo person regarding the Nigerian polity. “Furthermore, I implore that we rid ourselves of the politics of bitterness, violence, manipulations, deception, deceit and lies, with a full acknowledgement that all power belongs to and comes from God.”

Metuh further commended Nigerians who have been praying for him since a Court of Appeal quashed his earlier conviction by a lower court, saying “I sincerely thank all those who have kept me in their thoughts, prayers and all those who spent their time and resources to plan an amazing homecoming for me. May the good Lord meet you all at your points of need.

“I want to state that the confidence and outpouring of goodwill from my people have reinvigorated me in my commitment to God to pay more attention to the underprivileged, including coordinating pro-bono services for people incarcerated without access to legal representation,” he added.