Over 100 women from the Mgbara Community in Ohaji/Egbema Council Area of Imo State on Tuesday embarked on a peaceful protest to expressed their rejection of a proposed citing of the African Development Bank (AfDB) within their community.

The women, displaying placards with several inscriptions and chanting war songs, said their concerns were not considered before few individuals from the community entered into an agreement with AfDB for the project.

Speaking to newsmen, the immediate past Youth President of the community, Mr Modrich Ajunwa said the protesting women have the backing of the entire community.

Ajunwa said, “these women are our mothers, wives and sisters. They are protesting today to formally communicate our strong objection to any proposed project or development initiative associated with the AfDB within our community, where the project has not received the collective acceptance of the people.

“We are not against development, but rather advocating for genuine development that respected the people, their land, their rights, their culture and their collective interests. For us, the future, ancestral heritage and common interests of an entire community cannot legitimately be decided behind closed doors by two individuals or a small group of persons.

“We remain committed to peace and lawful dialogue but we will continue to stand firmly for the protection of our community, our ancestral heritage and the collective interests of our people.”

He advised the AfDB not to proceed with the project without meaningful consultation and demonstrable community acceptance; stressing that the proposed project is causing unnecessary tension and division within the community.

He said, “we respectfully urge AfDB to exercise caution and suspend any engagement or implementation of the proposed project in Mgbara Egbema, until concerns of the wider community have been properly addressed through an open, transparent and inclusive consultation process.

“We further appeal to the bank not to rely solely on representations made by individual political leaders, traditional authorities, community representatives or any other persons claiming to speak on behalf of Mgbara Egbema without verifiable evidence of broad community consent.”

“The proposed project has already become a source of serious disagreement, tension and division within the community. Rather than promoting development and unity, the circumstances surrounding the project are contributing to breach of peace and growing distrust among members of the community.

“We, therefore, believe that proceeding with the project under the present circumstances could further aggravate the situation and create consequences that would be contrary to the principles of sustainable development, community participation, peacebuilding and responsible development.” Ajunwa added. (The Guardian)

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