The Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi, says the South-East geopolitical zone does not want war, adding that the region also does not want to leave Nigeria.
Umahi, who is also the Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, stated this on Thursday at Aso Villa in Abuja during the weekly State House Briefing.
He lamented that “the situation in the South-East is a mixture of reality, fake news and war propaganda”.
“Are there rightful agitations in the South-East. Yes. Has it turned violent? Yes. It’s been hijacked,” he said.
The governor also added, “In the South-East, we don’t want war, we don’t want to secede, we want to be a part of a fair Nigeria where justice, equity and freedom exist.
“I believe in dialogue, and that we can sit down to know and resolve our differences and strengthen our cooperation as a people.”
The South-East region has been in the eye of the storm of late as rampaging gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra burn down police stations, prisons, offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission, while they also attack other public and private facilities.
The PUNCH reports that the Federal Government in 2017 proscribed the secessionist group, IPOB, led by Nnamdi Kanu, and declared the group’s activities as illegal but Kanu, who leads an army of youths, has been agitating for a Biafra Nation, citing perceived injustice and ill-treatment of Igbos in Nigeria.
Details later…
