Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has said residents of the state cannot afford to stay at home for two weeks in compliance with the directive issued by a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by Simon Ekpa.
He spoke in Abuja on the sideline of a security meeting convened by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and attended by the governors of the South East states – Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo – to address the issue of insecurity in the region.
His comment was contained in a release forwarded to Media Talk Africa on Monday night by Mr Kazie Uko, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Abia State.
Otti said only a handful of people were benefitting from the sit-at-home order, using the instrument of fear to intimidate the people and as such government cannot sit and watch them succeed.
According to him, “Governments all over the world cannot be threatened and we need to sound that note of warning.
“You cannot afford to sit at home when you have work to do. A lot of people live on a daily basis; the taxi drivers, the keke drivers; the woman that is selling pepper in the market, if she sits at home for two weeks, she will die of hunger.
“So, it (the order) is null and void”, the Governor posited.
According to the release, apart from Otti, the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, also attended in person, while the other governors were represented.
Also in attendance were the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Musa, and other senior military and police officers.
