A South-East based civil society organization, Coalition for the Advancement of Good Governance (CAGG), has lambasted the leader of the Autopilot Group, Simon Ekpa, insisting that sit-at-home only existed on some media and the figment of imagination of its promoters.
While urging residents of the South-East to treat Ekpa and his few insignificant supporters as criminals on a mission to destabilize the economy of the Igbo people, the CSO further commended Enugu State Governor, Barr Peter Mbah, as well as security agencies operating in the state for their prompt and proactive response in ensuring that adequate security is being provided.
In a press statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Enugu, the convener of CAGG, Dr Festus Nduka, described Ekpa as a “common criminal who is surreptitiously being sponsored by the enemies of Ndi Igbo to destabilize our peace-loving region, destroy our economy and incite the non-violent Igbo people against themselves.”
He accused Ekpa and his sponsors of inciting imaginary sit-at-home in the South-East in order to keep Mazi Nnamdi Kanu under the DSS custody in perpetuity.
“Finland must release Simon Ekpa and get him repatriated to Nigeria, let him come and face the music. He should be arrested and handed over to the international police to face his crimes against humanity in Nigeria.
“It is only a coward that will stay back in Finland, Europe; have his children attend the best schools and enjoy exotic alcohol from the blood money he is making from his criminal sponsors while claiming to be fighting for the Igbo nation. He should come back to Igboland and lead the fight instead of inciting our youths against the people,” the statement reads in part.
Nduka, who also urged other governors from the South-East to rally together and take proactive measures like the Enugu governor had done, lamented that gullible youths falling into Ekpa’s deception were losing their lives on daily basis.
He called on parents to admonish their grown up children against allowing Ekpa, whose family members are enjoying in Europe, to use them as human shields, stressing that security forces would not hesitate to do everything necessary to protect innocent citizens.
According to the terse statement, calling for sit-at-home under whatever guise had become a joke “taken too far” as no serious mind would listen to the senseless incitement especially in Enugu State where the citizens had already moved on with their normal lives after government’s intervention.
“Sit-at-home should be treated as a sad memory of our past. It is a historic relic we must be ashamed of as a people of common ancestry. Our gene abhors laziness and violence. We, the Igbo people, are known the world all over as industrious and enterprising. We are being celebrated outside Igboland as a workaholic nation. We must not allow anybody to destroy that spirit we are known for. The Igbo elders, men, women and the youths must rise up against Ekpa and his criminal sponsors and deal with them. We must take back our collective destiny from criminals living in Europe and outside Ala-Igbo, and define the future for the sake of our children,” Nduka further stressed.
Describing Governor Mbah as another Michael Okpara, the former Premier of the Old Eastern Region, the CSO noted that the governor was laying a new foundation for the region that would lead to economic integration, improved security, viable development and global competitive education system.
“Let us dedicate this paragraph in honour of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for the peace the people are now enjoying. He is the architect of the new Igbo nation. The re-engineering of the security architecture through the deployment of CCTV across the state, the effective collaboration and synergy among the security forces in the state and the spread of infrastructure going on have given credence that a new Igbo nation of economic prosperity is possible.
“We are using this opportunity to call on other governors, our representatives in the National Assembly and other positions of authority to join forces and make the South-East a region of peace and an envy for other zones,” the statement added.
