IPOB: Gov Umahi Reveals Why Ghost Monday Is Observed In Southeast

Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State who chairs the South-East Governors’ Forum has spoken up on the Monday sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) over the incarceration of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

Naija News reports that the observation of order also known as ghost Monday, seem to be on autopilot as parts of the South-East were like ghost towns two days ago even though the separatist IPOB reportedly announced its suspension.

Umahi has now come out to explain that Southeast residents heed the sit-at-home order by IPOB out of fear of being harmed by miscreants. He therefore urged security agencies to step up their efforts to ensure that South-East people go about their lawful businesses with­out fear

He stated this during the groundbreaking ceremo­ny of the construction of a twin flyover bridge at Hausa Quarters junction along Afik­po/Abakaliki Expressway in honour of the retiring Bishop of Abakaliki Catholic Dio­cese, Bishop Michael Nnachi Okoro, on Tuesday.

Umahi also called on Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to help the South-East avert the efforts to destroy the econ­omy of the region and described as un­true the insinuation in some quarters that the Southeast governors were doing nothing about the IPOB’s activities in the region.

He said, “I think CAN has a responsibility to help South-East. My heart is bro­ken for the efforts to destroy the economy of South-East. I was talking to a ministry that was supposed to come to Ebo­nyi State but the ministry said that Ebonyi State is a danger zone, because of insecurity.

“We do not know what we are doing to ourselves. I got a text message circulating, saying that the only way to appreciate the killing of three million Igbos is to kill more. That’s what a human being was circulating. Another one was saying, we work Tuesday to Saturday that we should give out Monday, that is very horrible.

“The South-East people should rise up to this mad­ness. Have we ever thought of how we have been killing ourselves in the pretense that we are fighting for ourselves. This is very dangerous until we rise up to say, no. I said that any civil servant, contractor or anybody who fails to come to work on Mondays will forfeit his position.

“We can’t fold our hands in our time and allow South- East to be destroyed. We have to think about those who say they are fighting for us; think about them, ask them whether they are fighting for us or fight­ing for themselves.

“Igbo man is not known for killing Igbo man and we brand it unknown gunmen; what nonsense is that? We all know that those that are being killed are our brothers and sisters and those who are killing are our brothers. The governors of South-East will do a meeting to condemn this; and we ask the security peo­ple, both at the state and at the national level to step up their vigilance.

“I think we should get the security people on the street. People are not coming out not because of obedience but because of fear. If you have enough security people to protect their lives, every­body wants to come out to do business to eat. It’s out of fear, and so, the security peo­ple at state and national level should note this.”