A House of Representatives member for the Ideato Federal Constituency in Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere, has said that some South-East governors have failed to bring an end to the crisis in the region because they are benefiting from it.
Ugochinyere stated this during a chat with ARISE TV regarding the incessant security challenges in the region.
He said, “There’s so much power that the president has in the constitution that he could use to bring this matter to a close within the shortest possible time. But the South-East leaders need to sit down to find a common ground over this issue of insecurity.
“The most important thing is that we want peace in the South-East because everywhere is devastated. Erosion is killing us. Infrastructure has collapsed. And then we cannot even sleep because our houses are being burnt and our people are being killed. This is not good.
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“Any leader that wants the progress and unity of Nigeria definitely will open his doors to allow stakeholders to come in to allow stakeholders to find a lasting solution. And I’ve this belief that the present administration going by what they say that they’ll run an inclusive administration and that they’ll ensure that there’s unity across all parts of this country, will consider the release of Nnamdi Kanu as a critical step towards that part of finding that lasting solution.
“On my individual capacity on this live TV, I can tell you that some of the governors in the Southeast are enjoying this crisis. Because they’re benefiting from this atmosphere of insecurity.
“And some of them, let me say boldly without mincing any words, some governors recruited vigilante groups from neighboring states into their states security architecture and then what you see is that the same security vigilante they recruited turned out to be unknown gunmen.”
IPOB, since August 2021, introduced a sit-at-home order every Monday across the South-East to pressure the Nigerian government to release its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is standing trial on treason charges at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The separatist group later suspended the order and said it would only be implemented on the days Kanu appears in court.
However, gunmen said to be part of agitation for Biafra in the region have continued to enforce the suspended order. The IPOB faction led by Kanu has repeatedly disowned those enforcing the civil order.
