Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State on Tuesday said the people of the South East region were obeying the sit-at-home order of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) not out of obedience but fear.

Umahi stated this during the groundbreaking ceremony of the construction of a twin flyover bridge at Hausa Quarter’s junction along Afikpo/Abakaliki expressway in honour of the retiring Bishop of Abakaliki Catholic Diocese, Bishop Michael Nnachi Okoro.

The Governor urged the security agencies to step up their efforts by ensuring that the South-East people go about their lawful businesses without fear, even as he urged the Southeast people to speak up against the rising insecurity in the region.

He also called on the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to help the South East, to avert the efforts to destroy the economy of the region.

Umahi described as untrue the insinuation in some quarters that the South-East Governors were doing nothing about the IPOB’s activities in the region.

Umahi said, “I think CAN has a responsibility to help South East. My heart is broken by the efforts to destroy the economy of the South East. I was talking to a ministry that was supposed to come to Ebonyi State but the Ministry said that Ebonyi State is a danger zone, because of insecurity. And they suppose to perform an economic function that will help the fortunes of the State and the same thing is happening in all South East States.

“We do not know what we are doing to ourselves. I got a text message circulating, saying that the only way to appreciate the killing of 3 million Igbos is to kill more. That’s what a human being was circulating. Another one was saying, we work Tuesday to Saturday, that we should give out Monday, that is very horrible.

“The South-East people should rise up to this madness. Have we ever thought of how we have been killing ourselves in the pretence that we are fighting for ourselves?

“This is very dangerous until we rise up to say, no. I said that any civil servant, contractor or anybody who fails to come to come work on Mondays will forfeit his position.

“We can’t fold our hands in our time and allow South East to be destroyed. We have to think about those who say they are fighting for us; think about them, ask them whether they are fighting for us or fighting for themselves.

“Igbo man is not known for killing Igbo man and we brand it unknown gunmen; what nonsense is that? We all know that those that are being killed are our brothers and sisters and those who kill are our brothers. The Governors of South-East will do a meeting to condemn this; and we ask the security people, both at the State and at the national level to step up their vigilance.

“I think we should get the security people on the street. People are not coming out not because of obedience but because of fear. If you have enough security people to protect their lives, everybody wants to come out to do business to eat. It’s out of fear, and so, the security people at State and national levels should note this.

“Nobody should sit down and say that the South-East Governors are folding their hands and that the Igbo’s are obeying the sit-at-home. People are mainly just afraid. And so, we should not be branded as such.

“The security people should do their work. South East people want peace, they want to do business even on Sunday because we are business people. So, I want every voice to be put forward to condemn this high level of irresponsibility.”

(Text, excluding headline Daily Independent)

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