Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, has said that residents of the state cannot afford to adhere to a command given by the IPOB faction led by Simon Ekpa by sitting at home for two weeks.
He made this clear on Monday at a security meeting in Abuja convened by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to address growing concerns of insecurity in the South-East. The meeting was attended by the governors of the region.
The governor of Abia said that just a small number of individuals were gaining from the sit-at-home order and using it as a tool of intimidation against the people. As a result, he added, the government could not simply stand by and allow them to continue to thrive.
Speaking to journalists after the security meeting, Otti said:
“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."
Otti and his counterpart from Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, attended the meeting together with representatives from the governors of Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi.
Major General Christopher Musa, the chief of the defense staff, also attended the security meeting.
