Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has reacted to the sit-at-home order issued by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB in the Southeast in honour of millions of people killed during the unfortunate Civil War in Nigeria.
The governor while featuring as a guest on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics monitored by ABN TV, said people are not under obligation to obey the order or otherwise.
According to the Governor, those who may not wish to open their shops or places of business within the period of sit-at-home in his State will not be forced to do so.
“You cannot legislate against what people will say neither can you legislate what they will do. If some people decide not to go to the market today that is Sunday, that is their business. The government cannot say you must go to market.
“But government’s business is running. I have an appointment with some people and also those working with me will do the needful. If you don’t see anybody in the shop, there is no law against such individuals in Abia and I know a lot of people will go about their businesses as usual.
“But you don’t take away the fact that some individuals may also for two reasons, either because they are afraid of being harassed or being shot or they don’t just want to open their shops. That’s the situation” he said.
The governor also decried the sense of alienation people from the Southeast feel about the way things are going in the country, saying some criminal elements who invaded the forests in the zone, attacking and harassing people were not adequately sponsored by the state authorities.
He said the need to protect farmlands, communities, and individuals from invaders as a result of failure of security architecture may have led non-state actors to resort to self-help who he said are gaining a semblance of sympathy.