South-East has lost N4tn to sit-at-home order, says Kalu

South-East has lost N4tn to sit-at-home order, says Kalu

The South-East region has lost N4 trillion in two years due to the sit-at-home order, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has disclosed.

The lawmaker said the figure was obtained from a recent survey.

He however did give the body that conducted the survey.

Kalu spoke at an event organised by the Ndigboamaka Progressive Markets Association in Lagos.

He said the Monday sit-at-home order imposed by the Indigenous People of Biafra had crippled businesses and stifled the economic growth of the five states in the region ( Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra and Imo).

The lawmaker, representing Bende federal constituency, said collective efforts would be required to stop the sit-at-home imposed on the people in the zone.

“The stay-at-home order on Mondays has resulted in staggering losses of N4 trillion in the last two years in the south-east alone according to statistical data,” he said.

Kalu also said, “The existential threat to Igbo entrepreneurship and businesses now is the insecurity and sit-at-home problem in the South-East,” Kalu said.

“The mutation of this problem is largely unfathomable. It is becoming a cankerworm that is eating deep into our collective fortune as a people.

“If I do not tell you the truths as your son, then it will be difficult for anyone in governance from Ala-Igbo to tell you.

“I am pained by what our dear land has become. We have to be honest and sincere with ourselves. I make a heartfelt plea to every one of you. We cannot afford to retreat from our business endeavours.”