The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi has defended the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as he sparked mixed reactions about his membership in the proscribed organization.
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Obi in a statement posted on his official Twitter page on Thursday, July 13, 2023, said the sit-at-home orders in the Southeast region are not issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) but by an unknown criminal enterprise.
He also commended south-eastern governors for their efforts in curbing criminal activities in the region, and called for more strategic and intelligence-driven approaches to reduce the suffering on citizens.
The former Anmabra state governor who saw the incessant killings and havoc caused by unknown gunmen suspected to be IPOB as mere “continued disruption of business and social activities in the South East”, however, described insecurity in other parts of the country, especially in the Northcentral as “mindless bloodletting.”
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His statement reads; “The violent attacks in the North Central states of Benue and Plateau lately took a new twist with high records of kidnapping, arson, and loss of human lives. According to the 1st Quarter Mass Atrocities Casualty Tracking Report, over 1230 Nigerians were killed.
“What is going on in the South East therefore is essentially a criminal activity that must be nipped in the bud, with all hands being on deck, security agencies, and the people alike.
“The South East Governors are to be commended for their renewed efforts at curbing this menace but there is a need to be more strategic and intelligence-driven in our approach to reducing the suffering of innocent people.
“79 of them security operatives, with over 600 abductions in the first quarter of this year alone. With what has been happening in the North Central and Zamfara state lately the figure as of today will be mind-boggling even far more than the deaths recorded in Russia/Ukraine ongoing carnage.
“It’s unacceptable that hundreds of innocent lives will continue to be wasted in Nigeria needlessly through communal clashes, bandits, and kidnapping activities. The situation in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau states has raised a lot of anxiety because of the number of lives and properties lost with very little resistance from security operatives.
“Also disturbing is the continued disruption of business and social activities in the South East region over the Sit-at-Home directive purported to be coming from the ndigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, when the body has publicly denied issuing such directive. What is going on in the South East therefore is essentially a criminal activity that must be nipped in the bud, with all hands being on deck, security agencies, and the people alike.
“The South East Governors are to be commended for their renewed efforts at curbing this menace but there is a need to be more strategic and intelligence-driven in our approach to reducing the suffering of innocent people.
Security agencies should take necessary and quick steps to arrest the ugly incidents because the country cannot just be spilling the blood of innocent citizens. We as a people through our various governments should up our value for human lives in the way and manner we respond to issues that touch lives.
“The implications of an insecure environment for development are far-reaching because no investor will consider going to an area where their resources will not be safe and secured. Therefore, I will like to urge critical stakeholders in these areas, traditional, Christian, and Muslim leaders to continue pushing for peace among their people in the way and manner they conduct themselves.
The various governments at all levels should also take deliberate steps to address the issue of poverty and youth unemployment because the provision of stomach infrastructure is the surer way to tackle insecurity.
Also, urgent steps should be taken consciously and intentionally to ameliorate the hardship of the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, his comments on IPOB have generated controversies among Nigerians. Many called him an hypocrite and expressed happiness that he never won the election where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged victorious.
Others, however, commended him, saying he has rebranded face of opposition in the country and also lambasted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for remaining silent despite the incessant attacks in some places in the country.
@wizmuckie said; “Don’t you think it’s hypocritical this being the first time you ever mentioned the South-East and insecurity in same tweet? What’s even more hypocritical is how you still categorically described the barbarism happening in the East as mere disruption of business and social activities. 😅🤡”
@Waspapping_ said; “mindless bloodletting, particularly in the North Central zone of the country, and the continued disruption of business and social activities in the South East” With Every passing day, you keep proving why sane Nigerians make the right choice by rejecting you as president.”
@PureMinD__ said; “PO has rebranded the face of opposition in Nigeria. This man is not going to be silenced anytime soon no matter what they do. I don’t stan rubbish.”
@TheEmmalez wrote; “I still wonder why you all want PO to speak to the issues the nation is facing while the president select hasn’t even made a statement yet. I want to ask, What happened to Sowore, Atiku, and others?
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