…IPOB, MASSOB, Ohanaeze Back Enugu Governor
Enugu State governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has commended civil servants, transporters, the business community and other institutions in the state for the significant compliance with government’s directive ending the Monday sit-at-home order.
This was even as the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), and Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, have both thrown their weights behind the efforts of the Enugu State government to end the sit-at-home, saying it was the handiwork of those who want to destroy the Igbo land.
Mbah put the compliance level at about 70 per cent, expressing hope of total compliance on subsequent Mondays.
The Governor stated these during the monitoring of compliance to government’s directive by government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), markets, among others, restating government’s resolve to secure lives and property.
Ministries and offices visited included Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry Capital Territory, Ministry of Inter-Ministerial Affairs and Special Duties, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Lands, Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant-General, Office of the Head of Service, Office of the Surveyor-General, among others, where he was received by the civil servants and heads of MDAs.
Mbah also visited several markets, including the Akwata section of Ogbete Market, Mayor Market situate along Agbani Road, among others, where he was warmly received by happy traders and their leaders.
Mbah said productivity was key to all the promises he made to the people to drive investment inflow into the state, create jobs, and provide quality services.
He reminded the people that the power and mandate belonged to them, hence they should never allow people, who had no stake in the state’s economy to undermine the peace and prosperity of the Enugu State.
Speaking with newsmen after the monitoring exercise, Mbah, he said: “The primary objective of my visitations is largely to observe the level of compliance of the directive that we gave last week, declaring that we do not have sit-at-home in Enugu henceforth.
“Whether we succeed or fail in ending sit-at-home, we do that together as Enugu people. If we succeed, our collective success means we can rise together against intimidation. It is not anybody’s or government’s success.
“But the truth is that everything we have promised our people in Enugu is anchored on getting the flow of private sector investments into our state; and the private sector cannot come into a state where the people are not productive. The private sector thrives on big markets and a vibrant workforce.
“So, our people are known by their hard work, by their industry and commerce. So, we cannot have people, who kill these spirits in our people dictate to us the day we should go to work and the day we should sit at home.
“We have to revive that spirit of hard work and culture of commerce and industry that our people are known for. We want to reinstate that; and that is exactly what we are doing”.
Mbah assured the people of government’s commitment to the security of lives and property every other day of the week, Mondays inclusive.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued by IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, on Monday, the pro-Biafra agitation group said, “criminals are using the sit-at-home order to cause havoc in the South East”.
“After our leadership initiated the Monday sit-at-home order to demand the release of our leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU, who is currently being illegally detained at DSS dungeon, he directed IPOB leadership to stop the sit-at-home to avoid criminals capitalising on that to harm our people.
“Though some Biafrans continued with Monday sit-at-home voluntarily, as our leader predicted, after the suspension order, some criminals and infiltrators hijacked it and started committing crimes and enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home.
“If indeed Governor Mba wants to return to normalcy on Mondays, he will have the support of IPOB because those enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home are criminals.
“Someone wants to penalise our people. Anybody enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home order is not helping IPOB and our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu. Every member of IPOB and Biafrans should be coming out on Mondays for their business”, IPOB stated.
Also, MASSOB, in a statement by its National Director of Information, Comrade Edeson Samuel, faulted the opposition of the leader of a faction of the pro-Biafra agitators, Simon Ekpa, to the efforts of the Enugu State Government to end the regular Monday sit-at-home in the state, saying such stand was not in the interest the peace and development of Enugu State and Igbo land as a whole.
“Even if the sit-at-home should last for one month or more, it is only our people and businesses that will suffer and not the federal government.
“We, the members of MASSOB, advise those agents working against the interest of our people and destabilisation of Igbo land to desist and give peace a chance.
“Our stand as the mother of all pro-Biafra groups remains that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be released for peace to be restored in Nigeria and Igbo land.
“But we do not believe that the quest for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the actualisation of the sovereign state of Biafra, both of which are our collective struggles, are synonymous with the creation of the state fear, insecurity, and waste of lives and properties, all of which are unhealthy to peace, entrepreneurship, productivity, investment, and development in our home land.
“Therefore, the resolve of the Enugu State Government to end Monday sit-at-home is not different from the position of MASSOB and all true lovers of the peace and development of Igbo land.
“MASSOB calls on Simon Ekpa and other comrades in the struggle to desist from anything that could create panic in any form”, the statement read.
Likewise, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has has condemned the attempts by people it described as “infiltrators into the Biafra agitation” to destroy Igbo land in the name of sit-at-home.
He said that it was sad that months after the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, cancelled the Monday sit-at-home after discovering its devastating effects on the South-East economy, some enemies of Ndigbo had carried on with it.
In a statement by its National President, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, the group said: “We cannot continue to allow that which has gravely hurt and destroyed Igbo lives, economy, and image to fester. This is certainly not what Biafra stands for.
“Now that the Governor of Enugu State has again made an appeal for the sit-at-home to end, in the collective interest of the people, our passionate appeal to all the agitators, the IPOB, the MASSOB, the Author Pilot, the Zionists and a host of others, is that they should sheath their sword and allow normalcy to return”, Okwu said.
