Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano and his Ebonyi State counterpart, David Umahi, have lamented the untold losses suffered by their states and the Southeast in general following the continuation of the Sit-at-home order issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to press for the release of their detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The governors feared that the directive could completely ground economic activities of the region if not immediately stopped.
Umahi described the losses suffered by Ebonyi State as unimaginable regretting that the sit-at-home protests have decimated the economy of the Southeast.
Disturbed that the protests are taking the turn for the worse, Anambra government yesterday declared that the state has had enough of the IPOB-induced Sit-at-home protests on Mondays.
It asked banks and traders to ignore further threats by the outlawed group and resume normal business activities from Monday.
Governor Willie Obiano threatened to seal any bank or market that joins in the protest again.
Obiano had met with stakeholders in the state over the implications of the weekly Sit-at-home protest.
Candidreporters.com gathered that the state may have cumulatively lost N30billion since the first ‘Black Monday’ as IPOB called its protest on August 9.
The group said its action was to pressurize the Federal Government to release its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing treasonable charges in Abuja.
“The markets should open. If they do not open, I would sack the leadership of the market and shut the market,” Obiano told traders at a meeting.
“Invisible voice says ‘sit at home?’ And, you just comply and lose money. You don’t know who says sit-at-home, you just lose money.
“You need to help us to solve this nonsense. It is absolute nonsense. That’s a warning. If you don’t do that, we will change your leadership,”
Information and Public Enlightenment Commissioner, C Don Adinuba, in a statement in Awka at the end of a meeting with security heads said “all markets as well as motor parks and commercial vehicles are henceforth to operate fully every Monday and any other weekday except any day declared work-free by the appropriate authorities.”
Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State said the sit-at-home protests have decimated the economy of the Southeast.
He said the group does not have the interest of the region at heart warning that the group will end up destroying the region if not checkmated.
Federal Ministries, Agencies and Departments, according to him, no longer come to the state to carry out their functions.
He said:”The economy of the Southeast will be destroyed by the reason of very few that are self- seeking. We are known for trade and anyone advocating for sit-at-home in Southeast is evil because Southeast has not caused the problem of anybody.
“If anybody is waging war, that war cannot be in Southeast. It is important that our people should understand what is going on. It is not in the interest of Southeast”
“You can’t kill the people and destroy the economy and say you are fighting for the people. We must rise to say no to this evil plan to destroy our economy and destroy our people.
Commissioner for Commerce, Stephen Odoh said the losses are unimaginable.
He said his Ministry is still compiling data on the sit-at-home to find out the total of losses incurred by the state as a result of the exercise.
The Imo State government last week sealed some banks in Owerri as punishment for observing the sit-at-home protests.
It said its action was to let the banks appreciate the frustration they had caused customers on Monday by refusing to open for transactions.
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