By Raphael Ede
The Enugu State chapter of the Igbo apex socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, on Sunday, declared its end of a sit-at-home protest in the South-East in general and the Enugu State in particular.
The state chapter of Igbo socio-cultural group said it was fully backing the Enugu State Government in its efforts to end the sit-at-home in the state, insisting that the protest had outlived its usefulness.
The PUNCH reports that a factional leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra, led by a Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, who styled himself as the Biafran Prime Minister of Biafra Republic Government in Exile, has been enforcing Monday sit-at-home, which the main IPOB group led by Chika Edoziem had since cancelled.
The factional group had insisted on the sit-at-home as a way of calling for the release of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is being detained by the Department of State Services since June 2021.
But Ohanaeze in a statement on Sunday signed by its Enugu President, Professor Fred Eze, applauded the courage of the state governor, Peter Mbah, in taking the bold step to put an end to “the scourge of sit-at-home in Enugu State”.
Ohanaeze recalled that before the cancellation by the government, Enugu State was overwhelmed by a climate of fear such that people could not go about their normal business with confidence.
“In Enugu State, every Monday became an unofficial holiday as businesses and other social activities usually came to a halt.
“Thus, the continued observance of the sit-at-home order had a significant negative impact on the economy of Enugu State. Businesses were rapidly closing down while others were relocating away from the state leading to the loss of foreign direct investment and massive capital flight.
“Thus, the action by the Enugu State Government could not have come at a better time. That Governor Peter Mbah also called for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; and has triggered steps to get the Federal Government to release Kanu are indicative that the governor understands the core issues at stake
“The sit-at-home order is self-immolating and has disrupted all productive assets and resources in the state since its introduction and enforcement.
“Ohanaeze Enugu State chapter expresses happiness that the leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has himself categorically ordered the cessation of any form of sit-at-home in whatever guise in the South-East Nigeria,” he said.
The group therefore applauded the “life-saving order by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu because the sit-at-home is counterproductive as it does incalculable harm to the people IPOB is fighting for.”
Ohanaeze appealed to parents, guardians, youths, and the general public to join hands with Mbah and his administration in ensuring that sit-at-home was put to a permanent end in the state.
Source: The Punch
