Chairman, South East Governors forum and Governor of Ebonyi state, Chief Dave Umahi on Sunday evening said the zone loses over N10 billion in every sit-at-home the people of the region observe.
Since the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was arrested, the organisation has declared every Monday sit-at-home until he is released.
Umahi said in every of the sit-at-home, the zone lost over N10 billion and expressed dismay that the order was adversely affecting the economy of the region.
The governor spoke in Abakaliki, the state capital during a State Dinner in honour of the former Chief of Army Staff and Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Tukur Buratai.
He noted that the state would not subscribe to incessant calls for sit-at-home, insisting that any Civil Servant who was absent from work to observe sit-at-home, would be sanctioned.
“Evil will continue to thrive if good people keep quiet; we must make Ebonyi State very exceptional by rising to the challenges. When we shout true federalism, I say I agree but it should be administrative restructuring, Ebonyi State is not in support of any State collecting VAT, we are in support that FIRS should continue to collect tax and share.
“We are destroying our economy, the sit at home is not happening in South West, the North is not sitting at home, each time we sit at home, we lose over N10 billion in our economy, so Ebonyi State will not sit at home any day, so I charge the commissioners to go all out and ensure that Civil Servants come to work, and for the markets, I will personally be in the markets tomorrow, anyone who is no longer interested in owning shops can go home.”
The governor while urging the Nation Leaders to speak up against dissenting voices that are capable of polarizing the nation said he is open to debate with any PDP governor who feels he has delivered more democracy dividends to his citizens than the APC-led administration in Ebonyi State.
“People are taking special interest in Ebonyi State and her governor, positively and negatively but it is very important to be in the news than for you to say there are 36 states, you will name 35 and say what is the other state, we have aborted it, we are now a state to reckon with and we have no apologies.
“When I say I have no apologies, you can talk everything about me but you cannot say we have not delivered and so when people open their mouths in PDP to talk about APC, they should know that I belong to APC and if they like, let PDP offer any of their best governors to come for debate with me and I will defeat any of them, not to be talking and talking. You don’t sit on people’s sweat and resources and be talking nonsense.”
