Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo grounded amid IPOB’s denial of sit-at-home order

•No sit-at-home today, says Simon Ekpa
•Govt lauds Enugu residents for shunning sit-at-home

Most parts of the South-East were yesterday turned into ghost towns, as residents ignored assurances by their state governments and security operatives to go about their businesses without fear of intimidation.

At the weekend, it was reported that the two-day sit-at-home order was by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), but the separatist group has come out to deny the insinuation.

In a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB clarified that it does not enforce sit-at-home orders without a valid reason.

The pro-Biafra group emphasised that it always makes public announcements when it declares a sit-at-home and urged the public to ignore what it described as an “obnoxious order” from criminals allegedly working to demonise IPOB.

Meanwhile, Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, said there is no sit-at-home today, October 22, in the South-East.

Despite an order by the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, that businesses should open yesterday, traders in Awka town largely complied with the sit-at-home order. Economic activities were crippled in the state capital, and pupils were turned back from school.

Reports from Onitsha and Nnewi and other major cities were the same. In Ebonyi, there was total compliance by the residents to honour Biafran soldiers that lost their lives during the civil war of the late 1960s. Also, the majority of Imo residents complied with the sit-at-home order.

Ekpa, in a statement, yesterday, stressed that there would be no sit-at-home today, adding that he would explain the reason later.

However, the Enugu State Government has commended the people of the state for resisting the sit-at-home warning by people it described as “enemies of progress”, saying they had shown that Enugu had since gone beyond that stage.

The commendation was given at a joint press conference addressed by the government and security chiefs after a tour of schools, businesses, financial institutions, and markets to boost confidence and monitor compliance to the ban on sit-at-home in the state.

Speaking, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “Enugu is open for business and Enugu is fully engaged in assuring that private sector actors feel very comfortable coming into Enugu. So, we will not tolerate non-state actors trying to act in defiance of our clear approach to grow our economy. What is also important is that under this governor and this government, there has been no incident on any Monday from the day the governor cancelled the illegal sit-at-home.

“Because we heard the rumours of an illegal sit-at-home directive by non-state actors, the security forces and the state government decided to move around the state to ensure that people feel safe and that there is no compliance to this illegal directive. We went through different locations. We toured the schools, markets, financial institutions, our civil service offices, and we are satisfied with the turnout of the people. It shows that people in Enugu are clearly not aligned with that illegality. It is also a demonstration of people’s support for a government and the leadership that completely understands the value of hard work and continues to support their people by creating a sense of security for them to do their business,” Onyia stated.

Speaking on behalf of other security chiefs, including the Garrison Commander, 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Steven Dogo; and State Director of the Department of State Services, Theresa Egbunu, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Anayo Uzuegbu maintained that sit-at-home remained an aberration in Enugu State and reiterated the determination of the security agencies and the government to deal ruthlessly with troublemakers.