…asks residents to disregard sit-at-home order
Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi has vowed that shop owners who refuse to open their stores due to the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra would forfeit their stores.
He has, fire, advised the people of the state to disregard the order by IPOB and go about their normal activities.
The governor said this on Saturday in Abakaliki, the state capital.
Umahi said : “I have been getting voices from certain agitators that tomorrow there will be no movement, this is foolishness. If there is no movement in the Southeast, is there no movement in the whole country? What an Ebonyi man will never accept is to go into second slavery under any guise.
“We know the Biafra we need is to have enough money so that we cleanse up the toga of the slavery that our brothers and sisters subjected us into when we were under what they want us to be under.
“We need money, if you love Ebonyi State, bring money, come up and put up one construction. Let us see your houses and investments in Ebonyi State.
“So, I want to say that there will be free movement throughout today, throughout tomorrow and ongoing.
“I challenge the youths, the local government chairmen and the politicians, the stakeholders, the security agencies to ensure that nobody is molested and I have banned any form of procession or gathering till further notice in Ebonyi State.
“On Sunday, I will want people who are of Christian faith to go about their church services and pray for our nation, pray for the souls that have departed both during the war and now that people are being killed.
“On Monday, markets must be fully operational. Anybody whose store is not opened will forfeit the store. I ask the security agencies to massively deploy security people to protect the people of the state everywhere.”
“Let us stay in peace, agitation does not mean violence. Agitation does not mean insulting leaders of this country, agitation does not mean killing security agencies. When Mandela fought for the liberation of South Africa, he was there.
“Let all the freedom fighters for the Southeast come down to the Southeast so that we can all be together. We should not stay outside the country and be vomiting rubbish and collecting hard currencies and luring our people to be destroyed.”
IPOB had initially announced the sit-at-home order for May 30 but later said that it would be observed on Monday May 31, to enable Christians to attend church on Sunday unhindered.
The group, in recent years have usually declared May 30, a sit-at-home for the people of Southeast and other neighbouring states. According to them, the order is to use the day to honour millions of the people of the region killed during the Biafran war and others who died in the struggle for an independent Biafra.