Residents of Enugu State on Monday, trooped out in their numbers to march against the Monday sit-at-home being enforced by Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed disciple of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The State Governor, Peter Mbah, had on June 5, banned the Monday sit-at-home in the state and had urged residents to go about their legitimate duties on that day.
Mbah, had also during the monitoring of compliance to his directive in several major markets and government offices previous Mondays, expressed displeasure that some residents still stayed at home despite his assurance by security operatives that their safety would be guaranteed.
However, as early as 8am on Monday, residents of the state gathered under the auspices of a Coalition of Civil Society groups and marched around the state to encourage the people to return to their Monday businesses.
Led by their Coordinators, Onyinye Mammah, Ebuka Okoh, Bismark Oji, Charles Ogbu, and Eberechukwu Anigbo, the people carried banners and placards with different inscriptions such as “Enough is Enough”; “Say No to Sit-at-Home in Enugu”, “Allow the poor to breathe”, ‘Our mumu don do”, “Enugu people must be freed from the shackles of those who want to hold it down”, among others.
Chanting ‘No more sit at home in Enugu’, they converged at the Michael Okpara Square from where they moved through the Presidential Road, Ogui road, Ogbete Main Market, Okpara Avenue, Garden Avenue, New Haven, Bisala road and back to Okpara square.
The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Enugu State chapter, Emmanuel Ede who took part in the march, described it as a “heart warning”, saying it was an indication that residents of the state were no longer comfortable with the forced sit at home every Monday in the state.
“There is no better way to show support for what the Enugu State governor is doing to end the Monday sit at home than this march,” he said.
The Executive Director of Heroine Women Foundation, Onyinye Mammah, who spoke on behalf of the coordinators, explained that they had taken a decision to embark on the March following the devastating effect the continued Monday sit-at-home has had on the economy of the state and the southeast region as a whole.
Other residents who took part in the March said it would go a long way in encouraging business owners and other residents in the state to disregard the sit-at-home order by Ekpa and his disciples. which according to them, has not benefited the state and the entire southeast region in any way.
Gideon Arinze in Enugu
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