by 
By Charles Ogbonnaya, Okereke Kate
The Steering and Working Committees for the Eastern Nigeria Development with a vision of a “New Jerusalem City” Project have been inaugurated in Abia State.
Inaugurating the committees in Umuahia, the convener, Hon Vincent Ubani, tasked the members to do everything possible to see the smooth, careful and peaceful returning of the Southeasterners from all turbulent zones of the country back to the South East region.
Ubani who described the inauguration as the journey to redeem and reinvent the place of the Igbo and every single ethnic nationality who are cohabitants and original owners of the Eastern Nigeria, said the move has been long overdue, although certain steps had been taken towards the direction in the past.
He harped the need for a committed and devoted approach geared towards liberating the Igbo and other sister ethnic nationalities that formed the Eastern region from the embarrassment of incessant humiliations and insinuations from “Our presumed fellow citizens”, even without any noticable provocation.
“Our going ahead with the plans to getting our people saved from political extinction, ethnic profiling and ethnic cleansing by setting up this homeward integration and consolidation plan, ought not to be overemphasized any longer among us.
“The inauguration of these working committees and their subcommittees is to meet the goal and target of this project, to rescue our people’s lives, their moveable properties, businesses and investments back home to rebuild our economy by building such great new cities in our fatherland just like we immensely contributed unreservedly on building such in many different states in Nigeria, more particularly, Abuja and Lagos”.
In their respective remarks, a former Secretary of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Mr. Chuks Ibelegbu and Chairman Oboro Clan Council of Traditional Rulers and traditional ruler of Ajatanigu autonomous community, King Larry Ogbonnaya Agwu appreciated the initiative and encouraged the Committees to strive to actualize the mission, vision and dreams of the Organization.
In an interview, Hon Ubani who was also the 2019 AAC Governorship Candidate in Abia State, said the project was borne out of the recent happenings in Nigeria,especially in Lagos State, where the Eastern citizens have been attacked and a resolve to relocate the businesses of ndigbo back home.
He said the idea would among other things boost the economy of the South East and South South,enjoining the government to embrace the project,as some international bodies have already bought into the project for its actualization.
