BY VICTOR NWEGEDE
Governor David Nweze Umahi said on Thursday in Abakaliki that Ebonyi State would not observe a "purported sit-at-home order," by the susspected proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, due to its negative implications on the economy, with its deadly threats to the security of life and property.
"He said, since the sit-at- home order got weight of reality in Ebonyi, the state residents have been suffering deprivations affecting their livelihoods and therefore, chose to recuperate the losses by going their normal businesses as usual.
"Ebonyi people have been so much deprived in the past, turning to house boys and girls, and we are in hurry to catch-up with others. So, we are not going to be sitting down at home, even some of us after Sunday service will be working to buy more time to catch-up with our paymasters. So, anybody saying sit-at-home, Ebonyi people will not sit-at-home," the governor said.
Umahi who is also the Chairman of the South East Governors' Forum, appealed to the people of the zone to understand the dangers of the sit-at-home order and stop compliance.
"I'm appealing entire South-East people to understand the dangers of this sit-at-home order. Those orchestrating this sit-at-home are our brothers outside this country, paid per hour and they found it comfortable for them to be at work, instructing us to sit at home. If they truly mean it, for us to sit at home, all the South East people in outside the country should be sincere, and any day they want us to sit at home, they should all sit at home, to know whether they will not be repatriated if they have nothing to pay for the means of their livelihoods," he added.
He described the sit-at-home order as an act of deceit, and expressed worry that those who claimed to be the descendants of men and women of wisdom from the region allowed themselves to be deceived.
He noted that none of the dead victims of the sit-at-home order were the members of the agitators, but the innocent citizens going about their normal businesses.
He stressed that the agitation would have be acceptable but frowned at a situation where one carries gun and other ammunition to kill his fellow human being.
The governor observed that, cultists and armed robbers have stopped operating in the South East zone as their members claimed to be IPOB, even when the secessionist group was trying to extricate self and maintained that the purported sit-at-home order would be a mission impossible since they continued to parley in destructions.
He condemned the rising cases of insecurity in the South East especially the murder of Dr Chike Akunyili in Anambra recently and described the act as uncultural in Igbo land.
Umahi therefore, urged the agitators to come together and openly ventilate their needs to enable the relevant authourities to address them while advocating for one Nigeria of justice, fairness and equity.
