Ohanaeze flays Ekpa over sit-at-home directive in S’East

•Ignore order, IPOB tells Southeasterners

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has lamented activities of a former leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simeon Ekpa, and called on the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, to call him to order.

Ekpa, in a video broadcast circulating on social media, had directed the people of the South East that “in preparation to stop elections from holding in South East, there should be a chain of ‘sit-at-home’ from December 9 to 14, 2022.

“Tuesday, December 13, is set aside for market, and these are in preparation for the exit of Biafra from Nigeria.”Reacting to the directive in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation lamented the unruly behaviour and statement.

Ogbonnia said: “They think they are making both name and cheap money, while, in the true sense of it, they are digging pits for themselves. Last week, a young boy, who claimed to be the President of Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), directed “Igbo youths to arm themselves.

“Our major concern is that all these unguarded, inflammatory, subversive and incendiary broadcasts by these later-day Biafran warriors, in their delusions, constitute enormous problems for the Igbo in relation to the larger Nigeria.”

MEANWHILE, IPOB has denied issuing any sit-at-home order in the South East. The group, therefore, urged Southeasterners, friends and lovers of Biafra to ignore such orders and go about their normal businesses on the said days, insisting that sponsors of such misinformation have shown the level of wickedness, and hatred they have against Igbo people.

In a statement, yesterday, the Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful, affirmed that the group never issued any sit-at-home order as being peddled. IPOB stressed that its members are not miscreants, senseless or jobless people.

The statement reads: “ IPOB wish to alert the people of South East, friends of Biafra, and lovers of Biafra freedom that its leadership did not issue any sit-at-home order on December 9 to 14, 2022.

“Every Southeasterner and residents in the region should ignore such order from individuals whose agenda is to make Biafra agitation unattractive to our people.

“IPOB, which is concerned about our people, cannot issue such unreasonable, uncaring five days sit-at-home order to suffer our people during this critical time of the year, when they are trying to makeup in their businesses for the year. The idea of five days sit-at-home by a Nigeria agent and his sponsors is to show the level of wickedness and hatred they have against our people. Their agenda is to create insecurity and unnecessary hardships to make our people abandon Biafra freedom.”