Alliance Youth West Tyrone representative Michael Bower has slammed Ogra Shinn Fein for encouraging members to paint post boxes green in order to assert their “national identity”.

Michael Bower stated, “This is a pointless, immature campaign aimed at riling people and causing controversy. Ogra Shinn Fein is doing this to define areas as being republican without any concern for the real views of the people who live there.

“Ogra Shinn Fein should put their petty sectarian games behind them and encourage their members to do more constructive things with their time than painting post boxes green.

He added, “Alliance Youth are running a campaign to raise awareness about child poverty in Northern Ireland and organised a petition attracting over 400 signatures at Queen’s University’s Freshers’ Fayre calling for the Executive to address this problem.

“Perhaps Ogra Shinn Fein should take a leaf out of Alliance Youth’s book and try to address issues that actually matter to people rather than simply causing problems.”