Governor David Umahi: Chairman, South-East Governors’ Forum

Governor of Ebonyi state, Dave Umahi, on Saturday told journalists the governors of the zone proscribed activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to put an end to tension that was rising in the zone.

Umahi who is the Chairman of the South East Governors Forum told journalists in  Abakaliki that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, was  losing control of the group, thus, the governors have to come in to avoid  bloodshed.

According to him, IPOB has deviated from its original ideal by causing unnecessary tension and killings which he said have resulted in slow down of investment drive in the region.

He added that based on evidence before him, the Army did not attack IPOB on as claimed by Kanu.

According to the governor, it was IPOB members who threw bottles and stones on soldiers who were passing.

The Governor said, “When you put a small fire, it can go very far and become difficult to control”.

“The IPOB activities were gradually getting out of control of Nnamdi Kanu. Soldiers were passing on the way when IPOB members started throwing stones and other objects on them and it sparked off the clash between the group and the military.

“It is a shame that when this thing happened, a man called Charles Ogbu had to send phone numbers of all South east governors, Senate President and others and all our people could do was calling us to insult us, talked to them anyhow. These are people that never experienced any war in their lives.

The Governor added that Northerners and all non-indigenes living in South east must be protected at all times, hence, security agencies have been directed to deal decisively with anyone that tries to cause a breach of the peace.

“Our focus is how to save lives of every Nigeria and we believe in a united Nigeria. Lives of people are involved and we must not play politics with that.

“Anybody that wants to foment troubles must be crushed and I want security agencies to beef up security around all the non-indigenes in the state and to report to me of any problem because we must maintain the peace.

He also asked Igbo youths to stop insulting President Muhammadu Buhari and leaders of the country while also revealing that Northern Governors will soon visit the South Eas.

He added that the visit will be replicated by the South East Governors to the North as a means of fostering unity in the country.

According to Governor Umahi,  majority of Igbos do not want secession from Nigerian but to be treated fairly and justly in the county.

“That is why we are all talking about restructuring, there is no part of this country that is not feeling marginalised somehow and that is why all the zones are setting up committees on restructuring”.

He added that that injustice or marginalisation should not be a reason to talk about secession maintaining that dialogue should be the best way to resolve and redress all differences.

The governor also said On operation Egwu Eke II (Python dance II)  was never targeted at IPOB, but intended tackle rising incidents of crime especially kidnapping and armed robbery in the state.

The Governor further noted that the military exercise was not expected to lead to violence as it was successfully staged last year.