We Cannot Afford to Sit at Home – Otti Says

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, says residents of the state cannot afford to stay at home for two weeks in compliance with the directive issued by a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by fugitive Simon Ekpa.

Governor Otti spoke Monday in Abuja, the Federal Capital, on the sideline of a security meeting convened by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and attended by the governors of the South East states – Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo – to address the issue of insecurity in the region.

Dr. Otti and his Imo counterpart, Hope Uzodimma, attended in person while the other governors were represented. Also, in attendance were the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Musa, and other senior military and police officers.

The Abia Governor said only a handful of people were benefitting from the sit-at-home order, using the instrument of fear to intimidate the people, and as such government cannot sit and watch them succeed.

“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 daily; 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,” Dr. Otti told journalists, who spoke with him after the meeting.

Kazie Uko
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor
Abia State
July 31, 2023