TheCable

Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu, says the state loses N10 billion every Monday to the sit-at-home order issued by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). 

Mbah spoke on Saturday at a town hall meeting with stakeholders in the state.

The stakeholders at the meeting included the police, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), traditional rulers, students, non-governmental organisations, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA).

Others are the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), financial institutions, transport unions, and traders unions.

Mbah had asked schools and businesses to quit observing the Monday sit-at-home.

He noted that the order disrupted economic activities and also had a negative impact on children.

The governor described 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,” Mbah said.

“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. And the private sector will not come to Enugu to reside their business if they know that we do not have five workdays, which is obtainable elsewhere.

“We have a bargain 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 will lose if we continue with this practice of sit-at-home, we will be denied about 20 Mondays. But what we want to do is to make sure that water is flowing in your homes in 180 days.

“So, I am calling on us 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.”

On their part, the stakeholders noted that the directive was detrimental to productivity.

They asked the state government to “resuscitate, overhaul, rejig and strengthen internal security mechanisms, such as the community policing, neighbourhood watch, forest guards, amongst others, in the state”.

They also urged the security agencies to continue to work round the clock to reassure citizens and residents of their safety.

They called on members of the public to support the crime-fighting efforts of the government and security agencies by sharing information on suspicious movements.

While urging persons and groups with genuine grievances to engage the government to ensure lasting peace and security in the state, the stakeholders commended Mbah “for the laudable steps taken so far to ensure peace is returned to the state”.

They cited such efforts as the governor’s recent visit to President Bola Tinubu for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the IPOB.

They said Mbah’s visit would “expedite the process of national healing, national integration, and national reconciliation”.