How ENUGU Gov. Is Battling Sit At Home Order

• Details Of The New Measures He Has Adopted

For over two years, the people of Enugu State have suffered losses, both in revenue and other things. This is caused due to the every Monday sit-at-home order declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, saying it’s in solidarity with the wrongful detention of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the immediate past government led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

They claimed that the former head of state unlawfully arrested him in a foreign country. In a statement by the group’s Media and Public Secretary, Emma Powerful, made available to journalists, the group said, “Nobody should attempt to flout this directive as doing so may come with huge consequences. Anybody flouting this order is taking a grave risk.”

IPOB said their leader should be released immediately.

The Government of Enugu State, under the leadership of Peter Mbah, has been trying every means to curb this menace in the state but to no avail since then.

In July, Mbah banned the sit-at-home order and vowed to shut down businesses that failed to open on Mondays. Making his threats real, Mbah embarked on sealing businesses in and around the Enugu metropolis as residents continued to observe the sit-at-home order.

The Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia in a statement issued on Saturday, reminded residents and business concerns in the state that the ban on the illegal Monday sit-at-home order remains effective.

“Given this, civil servants, schools, markets, financial institutions, business premises, and others, are hereby directed to resume normal activities on Monday.

“Government restates its resolve to apply sanctions against defaulters of its cancellation of the illegal Monday sit-at-home order in the state.

“Markets that fail to open to customers on Monday shall be shut down indefinitely. Shops in the markets that close on Monday shall be sealed and re-allocated to those eager to do business in the state. Government extends the same warning of sanctions against schools, financial institutions, shopping malls, department stores, business premises, and others that may defy its directive,” the statement read.

With every means tried by the governor, coming to no avail, Mbah decided to change his strategy and talk to his citizens in a way he believed they would understand.

A few weeks back, the governor stated that the state loses over 10 billion naira every Monday, Mbah said this at a town hall meeting with stakeholders in the state.

It is understood that the governor visited President Bola Tinubu for the release of Nnamdi Kanu. This visit would expedite the process of national healing, national integration, and national reconciliation, according to him.

The governor stated that the order disrupted economic activities and also had a negative impact on children, describing the sit-at-home as a setback to the delivery of his campaign promises.

“If we take the impact the Monday sit-at-home has on our GDP, you will then begin to see why it is almost impossible for all of us.

“We have proposed to grow our GDP from the current level of $4.4 billion to $30 billion. That growth is going to come from the private sector. The private sector will not come to Enugu to reside in their business if they know that we do not have five workdays, which is obtainable elsewhere.

“I made a promise that water will flow in your homes in Enugu city in 180 days and I am sure that you won’t take any excuses.

“But if you look at the number of Mondays that we have lost, if we continue with this practice of sit-at-home, we will be denied many Mondays. But what we want to do is to make sure that water is flowing in your homes like I promised,” the governor said.

He, however, noted that he is calling on Enugu citizens to rise to the occasion, “to understand that this is about us, this is about our children and our children’s future and we can’t afford to fail them,” Mbah said.

He urged the people of Enugu to join hands in making the state a better place for everyone and work together with him in order for him to fulfill his campaign promises at its exact time.

By Benprince Ezeh