Because of the Indigenous People of Biafra’s Sit-at-Home Order, South East businessmen have spoken out about the frequent closure of businesses in the zone (IPOB).
When IPOB’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is in court, residents in the South East are forced to stay indoors.
Failure to comply with the sit-at-home order resulted in the loss of lives and limbs, as well as properties.
On Tuesday, gunmen broke into a Catholic Church in Onitsha, Anambra State, as part of the proscribed group’s violence campaign.
Some Igbo businessmen reportedly told journalists on Wednesday that over N25 billion is lost every day in Onitsha due to “sit-at-home order” policies.
They bemoaned the loss of business, claiming that their customers were moving their operations to Lagos to avoid being attacked by IPOB.
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In a similar vein, the Igbo Business Forum has warned IPOB not to exploit the Biafran conflict to undermine the South East’s economy.
“How can someone decide to wreck his people’s economy because of a battle, when they are no more Biafran than we are?” You tell people to stay at home when you don’t have the resources to deal with the effects of hunger in the country, and those of us in the business sector lose an average of N25 billion in Onitsha alone, and I believe we lose the same amount in Aba, Nnewi, and other cities, which is bad for our economy.
“My colleagues in other zones are rejoicing over the business we lost to them as a result of the sit-at-home order by IPOB.” If what is happening in the South East continues, the zone will be doomed.
Those that travel to the South East for business have abandoned us and relocated to Lagos instead of Onitsha, Aba, and Nnewi. As a result of this sit-at-home order, we’re losing a lot of money.
“We believe there are alternative methods to achieve this objective than shutting down our shops, factories, and offices at our own expense,” he stated.
Meanwhile, First Republic Minister Chief Mbazurike Amaechi has voiced his dissatisfaction with the way IPOB members are managing the campaign for their leader’s release.
Amaechi warned he would pull out of the Kanu release negotiations as it seem that some people were profiting from Kanu’s plight.
He claimed that the organization had failed to recognize the Igbo elders’ efforts to win the release of the IPOB leader.
Source: Daily Trust.
