SAHARA REPORTERS
Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has stated that “the illegal sit-at-home” is no longer observed in the state.
According to the governor, the people of the state no longer take orders from non-state actors.
Governor Mbah made this assertion when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu visited the state to inaugurate various projects on Saturday.
Mbah also spoke about the security efforts being put in place by his administration, noted that his dream for the state could be achieved when “security is guaranteed, quality education thrives, and citizens can access affordable healthcare.”
The Enugu State Government issued a warning in June 2023 that any schools, markets, or shops that failed to operate normally due to the unauthorized sit-at-home order would face indefinite closure.
This sit-at-home directive, typically observed on Mondays, was initiated by the Indigenous People of Biafra, a separatist group, to demand the release of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who has been detained since 2021 after being re-arrested by the Federal Government.
IPOB later denied any involvement in the enforcement of the sit-at-home protest but the directive has been hijacked in the Southeast region by other non-state actors by then.
Mbah cited its harmful impact on the local economy.
The governor also listed different steps taken to enhance public safety in the state, including ending “the illegal sit-at-home order imposed across the Southeast.”
He said, “We no longer observe sit-at-home in Enugu. Our people go to work every day of the week, and we no longer take orders from non-state actors.”
The governor commended the President for the “courageous pronouncements you made to free up funds for development”.
He also praised the president for the removal of fuel subsidy, the unification of the foreign exchange, and “several social interventions that your government continues to provide for the people of this country”.
“We are now essentially, with those funds freed, able to fully complete projects. And it’s not just physical infrastructure; social and digital infrastructure are going on,” he noted.
Nnamdi Kanu, the detained IPOB leader, wrote a letter to Simon Ekpa in 2023, instructing him to cancel all sit-at-home orders in the region.
Specifically, Kanu ordered Ekpa to “desist from calling for any Sit-at-Home henceforth” and to make a public announcement confirming that he had received a direct order from Kanu to cancel any pending sit-at-home actions.
However, Ekpa, who is based in Finland and has since been arrested on terrorism claims, dismissed the letter as fake and claimed it was orchestrated by the Department of State Services (DSS).
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