Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State has said that the sit-at-home order of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is the worst thing that the South-East region has witnessed.
According to Umahi, the exercise has drastically affected the economy of the zone.
Umahi spoke to newsmen after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Villa in Abuja on Monday.
The governor said the leaders of the zone in collaboration with Ohanaeze Ndigbo are working on the grievances of the youths in the area in order to table them before the President for further actions.
He told those holding federal positions from the zone to always visit their states and identify with their people in a bid to know the level of marginalization experienced with the area.
The governor commended President Buhari for his support towards the “megaprojects” in the south East particularly the Second Niger Bridge, and the award of the eastern corridor of the railway line.
These, Umahi said, would fast track commercial activities in the area.
While noting that it is too early and distracting to start engaging in discussions about the 2023 elections, Governor Umahi prayed for God to give Nigeria a president with a kind heart like Buhari.
– I will feel bad if APC does not give Southeast a chance
Umahi’s latest comments on the 2023 election comes a few days after the governor said he will feel bad if the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not give the South-East a chance at the presidency.
“The heartbeat of the people of the South-East is that they should be given a chance whether in the PDP or the APC for Presidency of this country for the reason of equity, fairness and justice,” he said.
“I took that position in the PDP and one of the reasons why I took that position is because the South-East people have supported the PDP all the way and they have never been given any opportunity to do that.
“If I follow APC for this length of time, and they don’t give the South-East an opportunity, I will feel bad,” Umahi explained.
After several years in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Umahi defected to the APC in November 2020.
According to him, joining the APC was because of the “injustice meted to Southeast by the People Democratic Party (PDP) which include not zoning the party’s 2023 presidential ticket to the zone”.
He added that the ruling party was better disposed to the interest of the five states in the region, stating that he neither had presidential ambition nor was he promised the same.
