S’East govs set for showdown with IPOB over two-week sit-at-home order

The two-week sit-at-home order declared in the South-East by a factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Simon Ekpa, is unsettling political leaders in the area.

The leaders including state governors have however resolved to tackle the problem frontally.

Indeed, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo state governments have vowed not to allow non-state actors to continue disrupting governance in the South-East.

They said the two-week sit-at-home order would not be observed and warned the IPOB factional group not to dare the powers of the government.

The Simon Ekpa group had said the two-week sit-at-home in the region would happen from July 31 to August 14.

Ekpa on Tuesday specifically declared that the sit-at-home would take place in the following order: Monday, July 31, 2023 to Friday, August 4, 2023, there will be total lockdown in Biafraland;

He said, “Saturday, August 5, 2023 and Sunday, August 6, 2023, all Biafran markets will open respectively.

“Monday, August 7, 2023 to Friday, August 11, 2023, there will be total lockdown in Biafraland; Saturday, August 12, 2023 and Sunday, August 13, 2023 (Break), all Biafran markets will open; Monday, August 14, 2023, there will be lockdown in Biafraland.

“We hereby call on all market leaders to strictly adhere to this order and treat it with utmost seriousness.”

But responding, Anambra government said it would never yield to non-state actors.

The state government, through the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Christian Aburime, said Ekpa was a fugitive who should be completely ignored.

Aburime said, “Anambra State under the leadership of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo will never yield to non-state actors on this illegal sit-at-home order.

“Simon Ekpa is a fugitive and rabble-rouser who should be completely ignored by the citizens of Anambra and by extension, the entire South-East.”

“Our markets, schools, businesses, and other social activities will remain open. Anambra State will never be a breeding ground for anarchy, fear, or lawlessness,” he added.

Enugu State government also described Simon Ekpa as a villain, a criminal, stressing that nobody would obey him in the state and that the illegal sit-at-home had ended in Enugu.

In his reaction, Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State declared that there is nothing like sit- at- home in the state.

The governor stated this while fielding questions from journalists shortly after participating in a meeting of Ohanaeze Ndigbo with governors , house of assembly speakers, National Assembly members and other leaders from the South East zone at Imo State Governor’s Lodge Asokoro, Abuja.

Governor Nwifuru said what played out a week ago in Ebonyi State was a case of miscreants who attempted to put fear in residents and disrupt businesses.

“I am surprised to hear sit-at-home from you because there is nothing like sit- at-home in Ebonyi. We never for one day observed sit-at-home and I know you are aware.

“Some people only wanted to know if they can start putting tension in people and we said no; they don’t have such powers; they can’t do that and it didn’t happen.”

A former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, has called on the governors of the South East region to ensure that the people are not overpowered by miscreants enforcing sit-at-home orders.

Nwodo who was former Governor of Enugu State said that Simon Ekpa, who continues to declare sit-at-home orders in South East is endangering the lives and properties of the people of the region.

He said there are other ways of putting pressure on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, other than the frequent sit-at-home orders.

“Does Simon Ekpa know that some people in South East Nigeria are in hospitals and that medical personnel need to attend to their health needs? He is strangulating our economy by declaring frequent sit-at-home orders.

“I always say that there are other ways to put pressure on the Federal Government to obey court orders and release Nnamdi Kanu. The Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Emmanuel Iwuanyanyu, the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, and other stakeholders from South East continue to appeal to the conscience of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, to release Kanu, so that peace can return to South East.

“There are other ways that do not constitute a danger to the lives and economy of residents and people of South East than what Ekpa is doing. Can he declare sit-at-home in any part of Finland where he is currently residing?”

“We must equally put pressure on Governors of South East and the security agencies to guarantee the security of lives and properties of the residents of South East region, ” he said.

S’East govs set for showdown with IPOB over two-week sit-at-home order