By PETER OKUTU
ABAKALIKI— NO fewer than 2,000 church members resident in Ebonyi State capital, Thursday, staged a peaceful protest to register their dissatisfaction with the administration of Governor Martin Elechi these past four years.

The protesters, who were mainly members of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Abakaliki district, expressed discontent over the slow pace of development in the state and raised alarm over the level of poverty currently plaguing citizens of the state.

As they marched through strategic locations in Abakaliki metropolis, traffic was obstructed as vehicles were seen driving slowly to allow the protesters the liberty of exercising their fundamental human

rights.

They also chanted choruses and brandished their brooms which they said symbolized spiritual cleansing of the state.

Leader of the group, Evangelist Ephraim Ononye, stated that the church decided to stage a peaceful protest to let the government know that it was no longer happy with the condition of the citizens of the state.

He said: “Ebonyi is backward. Among the states in the old eastern region, Ebonyi State is the most backward. In this state, nothing is moving and people are complaining, people are crying, people are suffering; there is darkness in this state and we need electricity.

“We demand that the government and governed should embrace change. We want change, that’s why we are going round this roundabout and I know that there is power in what we are doing; let the government govern the people with its heart.”