Enugu gov bans IPOB sit-at-home, urges Tinubu to free Kanu

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Enugu gov bans IPOB sit-at-home, urges Tinubu to free Kanu

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, for healing of the country.

Mbah made the appeal on Thursday, while listing out the decisions reached at the end of his first security council meeting with the heads of all the security agencies at the Government House, Enugu.

He said, “I call on our newly-sworn-in President, President Bola Tinubu, to consciously work towards the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. We believe that his release will expedite the healing process Nigeria needs at this time.

“It will also be a pointer to his administration’s extension of brotherly hands of fellowship to Ndigbo.”

The governor declared the Monday sit-at-home by IPOB to press for Kanu’s release as antithetical to the economic interest of the state, saying it should stop from June 6.

Mbah, however expressed his government’s readiness “to engage in dialogue with people, who have genuine grievances towards bringing lasting peace and security to Enugu State.”

At the meeting, which also had in attendance the Deputy Governor, Mr Ifeanyi Ossai, the governor said he had hit the ground running on the day of his inauguration by signing three Executive Orders for the good governance of the state, including Executive Order 002 for the removal of “Unauthorised Street Barriers Across the State Within 100 Days.”

He said, “There is no time to waste. The clock has started ticking on the mandate you gave me and deliverables I promised.

“The idea behind sitting at home on Monday, the first working and business day of the week, is abominable and antithetical to greatness and the spirit of industry we profess to have inherited from our forebears. This cannot be us. Tufiakwa (God forbid). It does colossal damage to us.”

Mbah reminded the people of the direct connection between his lofty promises he made to them and the vibrancy of commerce in the state.

He added, “For us to transit from a public service economy to a private sector-driven one, we must free our markets from the shackles of restriction to commerce. If indeed we aspire and anticipate an influx of private sector practitioners and investors in Enugu State, we must know that this will not happen where the perception of us is that of unproductive people.

“Therefore, those that strike on Mondays, putting restrictions in the way of our Igbo spirit of creativity, cannot be our true representatives. In fact, they kill our spirit.

“To this end, therefore, from Monday June 6, 2023, there will be no observance of any sit-at-home in all nooks and crannies of Enugu State.

“Government will enforce this with all the powers at its disposal.

“My charge to all of you, market men and women, the corporate world, industries, schools, civil servants, and all strata of workers in Enugu State, is for us to take back our sense of industry, pride of place and re-enact our glorious past.

“By heeding this call, you would have set us on the path of actualising our mandate.”