Governor Mbah urgers South Easterners to disregard Ekpa, shun sit-at-home orders

…Tasks House of Reps, Finnish govt on repatriation

Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, has described the Finland-based leader of the Autopilot, Simon Ekpa, as a murderer, scammer, and common criminal” feeding fat on the emotions and sufferings of the Igbo, and enjoined the people of the South East region to disregard his threats and sit-at-home orders.

Mbah also expressed displeasure over Ekpa’s continued harboring by the Government of Finland even when many lives and properties had been wasted by his foot soldiers.

The governor spoke at the weekend, when he received members of the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence, who were on an oversight working visit to the state where they also inspected the construction of the Department of State Services (DSS), Training Institute at Awgu.

He said the import of security underscored his administration’s decision to end illegal sit-at-home hitherto enforced by non-state actors that held the people hostage both psychologically and economically, noting, however, that his government was not leaving anything to chance.

He said: “As you may also have noticed recently, they have continued to make attempts, particularly, that megalomaniac, who ironically resides with his family peacefully in Finland, a country where the rule of law reigns, but he encourages the rule of anarchy here and to goad some of our youths to their self-destruction.

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“This is also a business for him, pretending to be fighting for Igbo’s interest, but does not know anything about the Igbo or have their interest at heart.

“He creates some kind of siege atmosphere and thrives on it to make a living, continuing to extort and exploit our people, who may not be aware and telling them that he is fighting for their interest. He is just a common criminal.

“We are talking about a murderer, who just thinks about how to inflict terrorism on the people. Otherwise, how can you claim you love our people, a people that are known for hard work in our DNA and sit somewhere to dictate to us when to go to work and when not to go to work.”

Mbah assured the people of Enugu State of their continued protection, saying the state could not be intimidated by criminals.

“So, I want to also take this opportunity to call on our people to disregard this threat. We have demonstrated our capacity to provide security for our people and we will continue to do so through the help of our security agencies.

“We cannot be intimidated. We cannot submit ourselves to this siege atmosphere he wants to create in the South East. We treasure our hard work as a people. So, you can’t love a people and all you do is at the very expense of their existence just to grow followership and gain cheap publicity.

“I’m also calling on the youths, not to fall for these sorts of cheap antics because this is completely antithetical to our belief system. It contradicts our value and opposes our work ethics.”

Mbah urged the House of Representatives to take up the challenge of ensuring Ekpa’s repatriation to Nigeria to answer to his acts of murder and terrorism in the South East region.

“It is surprising that the Finnish Government allows this man to reside peacefully in their country and then be perpetrating terrorism in Nigeria. And I think this is something your committee may have to wade into and see how this guy can be repatriated and then be brought to justice.

“Through his statements and his actions, a lot of people have died and he continues in that trajectory. So, this is a tragedy that we must all work as a country to end. He doesn’t represent the Igbo interest,” Mbah stated.

He assured the House Committee of his administration’s readiness to assist in ensuring the early completion of the DSS Training Institute, stressing that security was too important to leave entirely to any tier of government.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Ahmed Satomi, described Governor Mbah as a worthy example for other states in security and good governance.

Listing Mbah’s giant strides in security and various other sectors, he called for the governor’s assistance towards the early realisation of the DSS Institute to help to actualise his lofty vision for the state.