The Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the threat by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, to attack the governors of the South East geo political zone, particularly Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State whenever they travel abroad as punk and cowardly.
The party, in a statement by the state Chairman, Barrister Onyekachi Nwebonyi, said the threat was out of desperation by the people who thought they could use the Biafra agenda for self enrichment.
He stated that the shenanigan did not pay off on the home front while the Igbos in the diaspora fell prey.
He noted that IPOB was not fighting for the actualisation of Biafra and the name of the organisation suggested no such objective, insisting that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the group was just out to make money from Igbo politicians and businessmen.
Nwebonyi maintained that the IPOB leader thought that he would get the governors and other politicians in the South East to be funding his activities which was not happening.
He stated that his recent approach of attacking Igbo politicians who travel abroad arose from that unmet expectation.
The statement reads: “He is not genuine in his agitation. There are valiant men at home who could support him if he is genuine, but he rather chose to rely on miscreants whom he can easily deceive.
“If Nnamdi Kanu is a genuine freedom fighter, he should have taken a cue from notable freedom fighters some of who even paid the supreme price for their course. Nelson Mandela served 27 years in prison in his struggle to end Apartheid in South Africa. He never ran away from his country. Martin Luther King Jnr. was imprisoned 30 times in his struggle to end racial segregation in America, and even laid down his life for that cause. He never ran away from his country. Jomo Kenyatta served 9 years in prison for his agitation for Kenya’s independence. He never ran away but stood firm to later serve Kenya 15 years as president.
“Kanu should have stayed back to press home his demand for the emancipation of the marginalised people of Biafra. That is why I call him a coward. He should also remember that the Igbos are not the only people of Biafra.
“And again, mentioning the governor of Ebonyi State for attack abroad shows that what the group wants is far from the emancipation of the Igbo people. It is laughable that instead of Nnamdi Kanu and the IPOB to direct their vengeance of the Operation Python Dance 2 towards President Buhari and the Nigerian Army, they ungratefully and cowardly chose to attack the very persons that saw to it that Kanu was released from prison. That is really cowardly and barbaric.
“Governor Umahi is not a governor that junkets foreign lands ignoring his people. The transformation he has given Ebonyi State clearly shows that if all the governors of the Southeast had acted in the same way over the years, the region would have been a destination of some sort by now. The infrastructural development going on in Ebonyi State is a clear indication that Governor Umahi does not deserve unfair treatment by any group whatsoever.
“I therefore call on Nnamdi Kanu to come back home and assess the performances of the South East governors so he would know exactly what his grievances are.”
