The Enugu State Association of Presidents-General of Town Unions and the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Rev. Godfrey Onah, as well as the Anglican Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, have endorsed the state government’s efforts to end sit-at-home days beginning on Monday, June 5, saying it is long past due.
They also reaffirmed their unwavering support for Mbah’s demand that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu be released from custody, stating that it is the best course for national reconciliation and regional stability in the South East.
The Most Rev. Chukwuma, who serves as the Anglican Bishop of the Enugu Diocese in addition to leading a prayer session for a peaceful end to the sit-at-home in Enugu State and the entire South East on Sunday at the Chapel of Redemption, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), made an appeal to the populace to support the government’s move by complying.
‘Institutions, Businesses Obeying Sit-At-Home Will Be Closed’ – Enugu Govt
“Government has given directive. My advice and appeal is that they should comply so we can save the economy of Southeast.
“Now the Governor has said it is safe to come out; therefore people should come out to do their business, and be free and set ourselves free from this bondage. It is a bondage, and we must be set free from it”, he concluded.
Additionally, Bishop Onah remarked that there was too much suffering in the world in his homily at the St. Theresa’s Cathedral in Nsukka, while applauding Dr. Mbah’s initiative to end the sit-at-home syndrome.
However, he pleaded with the populace to be forgiving to the new South East governors.
Bishop Onah attributed the unrest and insecurity in the area on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s ongoing detention and urged President Bola Tinubu to heed Mbah’s plea for Kanu’s release.
Gov Peter Mbah Makes Case For Nnamdi Kanu’s Release For Peace In South East
“The suffering is too much. But, please, everybody should have mercy. Those that are angry should calm down. Many of us are angry, but we have to be careful how we express our anger or we may cause more problems.
“It’s in this spirit that I understand the initiative by some state governments in the South East, especially the newly inaugurated government in Enugu state, to try to restore normalcy in the South East.
“But I want to believe and I want to affirm that this initiative must of necessity include an increase in the effort to secure the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention”.
On their part, the Presidents-General (PGs) of Enugu State Town Unions wondered why Enugu State should continue to be on lockdown every Monday whereas “both private and pubic offices in the capitals of other states of the South East region had since resumed businesses, wondering why Enugu’s case should be different”.
Peter Mbah As Governor Will Usher In A New Dawn – Nwaiwu
The Association claimed that the loss of Mondays since September 2021 has resulted in unimaginable sufferings and created incalculable economic losses in the state and South East in a statement by the Coordinating PG, Barr. Paully Ezeh.
“The governor’s promise to transform Enugu from a public sector economy to a private-sector driven economy; raise the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the present $4.4 billion to $30 billion in eight years, make Enugu one of the top three economies, restore public water supply in Enugu metropolis in 180 days, and eradicate poverty can’t happen if we continue to sit at home on Mondays. It presents our state to investors as restive, insecure, and unproductive place.
“The Association, therefore, appeals to both private and public institutions and people of Enugu to support the government’s efforts to restore full days of work and productivity in the state.
Enugu Tribunal: Peter Mbah’s NYSC Certificate Not From Us – Commission DG
“We urge aggrieved persons and groups to take the opportunity of dialogue advanced by the Mbah administration and we equally join the Governor in his call for Nnamdi Kanu’s release to engender organic peace and national healing”, the Association concluded.
Follow us on Facebook