Group expresses disappointment at governors, Igbo leaders’ meeting in Enugu

A group, Ndi-Igbo United Forum (NUF), has expressed disappointment at Tuesday’s meeting of Southeast governors and Igbo leaders in Enugu State.

It stated that the Southeast region was severely challenged with insecurity over the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, but the governors and leaders failed to address the issue.

They demanded that the meeting should be reconvened and demand the immediate release of Kanu from detention to check the rising tension in the region.

In a statement issued by its Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Chinedu Mba, he said: “On October 5, 2021, Southeast governors, lawmakers, traditional and religious leaders met in Enugu.

“The meeting was necessitated by recent developments and tension in the Southeast region, particularly rising insecurity.

“We are delighted that the meeting was finally held. However, we are not impressed with the outcome of the meeting, which was made public through a communiqué.”

The group lamented that it was clear that the security situation in the Southeast was breaking down daily, adding: “It is clear that IPOB’s sit-at-home orders were not helping Ndigbo as economic losses were unquantifiable.

“It is also necessary that the November 6, 2021 governorship election holds in Anambra State. Any one individual or groups working against the success of the election are either uninformed or mischievous.”

The group of all the issues raised at the meeting, NUF and most Southeast people were disappointed over the failure to address the fundamental causes of the breakdown of Law and order in the region and the endless detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“As we have been consistently campaigning, injury to one is an injury to all. Our brother and son that has been languishing in detention, deserves sympathy from his kinsmen. We expected the Kanu issue and his predicament to have been extensively discussed at the meeting.

“Every Igbo person expected our leaders to have updated us on their plans of how to engage the Federal Government on Nnamdi Kanu’s case. But it was extremely disappointing when the eight-point communiqué was released without mention of Kanu’s case.

The group argued that the deteriorating security situation in the Southeast region was fundamentally attached to Kanu’s detention, stressing that it was also direct spite on the sensibilities and continued marginalisation of Igbo people in the country.

“Instead of the Federal Government to see reasons with Kanu and IPOB’s morally justifiable agitations, they decided to arrest him, thereby adding insult to injury. That is an insult to the collective psyche of Ndigbo and NUF will never support such brazen humiliation of the entire Igbo race, no matter who is involved,” it added.