Breaking: Edeoga Backs Mbah, Bishops, Others On Sit-at-home Cancelation, Denies Supporting Ekpa
By Emeka Ugwuonye
Chijioke Edeoga, the Labour Party governorship candidate in the recently concluded Enugu election has backed the governor of the state, Mbah, religious heads, and town union presidents on the call for cancelation of sit-at-home in Enugu State.
Mr Edeoga who made this known today, Tuesday, June 6 in an On-Air program on ESBS Sunrise FM 96.1 said that the current economic situation of the country demands that people should be allowed to go about doing their businesses without any hindrance as hunger and starvation may likely greet the land if our economy is not made viable.
Mr. Edeoga while speaking on the issue accused Simon Ekpa, the Finland-based Biafran agitator as a puppet and an agent of division and disruption in the hands of Northern political elites who never wanted anything good from Igbo land, saying that Ekpa’s sit-at-home order is a sure way of undermining the economic growth of the Igbo nation.
He questioned why Simon Ekpa who is an indigene of Ebonyi State could not order for sit-at-home at Abakaliki, the state capital of Ebonyi but would would want to inflict hunger and hardship on Enugu citizens with the meaningless and frivolous declaration of sit-at-home in Enugu state.
While expressing his disappointment on the order made by Ekpa on Friday challenging the cancelation of sit-at-home in Enugu, Edeoga maintained that it is irrational and unwise for the people of Enugu State to continue obeying sit-at-home order when Umuahia, the state capital of Abia State where Nnamdi Kanu comes from has always been busy with their economic activities on Mondays and has always defied the sit-at-home order as made by the controversial Simon Ekpa whose degree of madness is yet to be ascertained.
“It is not about Peter Mbah, it is not about politics, but about the good people of Enugu State. It is unwise for a certain demented fellow who is based in Finland to press the keyboard of his phone and issue an order in Enugu State and the citizens will obey. It was estimated that Enugu State loses billions of naira on Mondays due to sit-at-home. I can’t imagine how low our people have stooped to the extent that a man who couldn’t execute the sit-at-home order in his own state, Ebonyi and Abia State where Nnamdi Kanu hails from will be proud to issue a wrong directive in Enugu and our people will obey it. It is time to stand up and defend our people. Nnamdi Kanu has instructed that the economy of Igbo land should not be crippled with Monday sit-at-home and yet a whimp will issue an order and expect us to obey it?” Edeoga queried.
He further denied the allegation that Enugu Labour Party supporters and the state executives of the party were against the cancelation order made by Peter Mbah. He maintained that he was one of the first people who started the call for the cancelation of the sit-at-home because of its negative impact on the economy of Igbo land.
“You know people must always try to blame me and my party for everything. The opposition parties have noticed that Labour Party in Enugu is waxing stronger and may likely take over any time soon. So, whenever you see them talk about me and my party in a disparaging way, just know that it is an expression of fear and frustration. How can we fight against the sit-at-home cancelation order when I said during the campaign that we will face Simon Ekpa and his group headlong? No individual is more powerful than the state. After God, it is the state when it comes to might. So, the state has the monopoly of power and can deploy it to fight her enemies. So, I and my people are in full support that Enugu people should come out without fear and engage in their business activities on Mondays since adequate security measures have been put in place,” Edeoga instructed.