Former presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Chief Martins Onovo, on Tuesday, took a swipe at the factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, for declaring a two-week sit-at-home in the South East.
Onovo, the Head, Policy Positions of the Movement for Fundamental Change said Simon Ekpa is a “senseless coward and a terrorist”, adding that “he (Ekpa) has no mandate of any organisation or any group, talkless of having mandate of the South-East).
It would be recalled that Ekpa in the early hours of Tuesday tweeted to issue a fresh threat of lockdown of a two-week sit-at-home in the South East from July 31 to August 14, 2023.
He disclosed that the sit-at-home is to demand “the immediate and unconditional release of IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who remains illegally detained at the DSS dungeon,” as well as “preparation for Biafra’s self-referendum and to further put the world on notice that Biafrans are taking their future into their own hands.”
Ekpa declared that the sit-at-home will also be observed “to invalidate the illegitimacy of those who parade themselves as Nigeria’s representatives within the Biafran territory.”
The tweet reads in part: “Following the demand by the Biafra people for more sit-at-home civil disobedience, the Biafra Republic Government In-Exile (BRGIE) and Biafra De Facto Government In Homeland wish to notify Biafrans that there will be sit-at-home civil disobedience starting from July 31, 2023 to August 14, 2023.
“The sit-at-home will take place in the following order: Monday, July 31, 2023 to Friday, August 4, 2023 and there will be total lockdown in Biafraland.
“On Saturday, 6th August, and Sunday, 7th August, the two-week-long sit-at-home will go on break as all Biafran markets will be opened.
READ ALSO: Alleged N261m Fraud: EFCC Drags Katsina Dep Accountant General To Court
“From Monday, August 7 to Friday, August 11, there will be a total lockdown in Biafraland while on Saturday, August 12 and Sunday, August 13, 2023, there will be a break as all Biafran markets will open. On Monday, August 14, there will be a lockdown in Biafraland.
“We hereby call on all market leaders to strictly adhere to this order and treat it with utmost seriousness. We also call on all oil companies operating in the Biafran territory to shut down oil exploration on these dates to avoid the anger of the Biafran people, which may come with heavy consequences.”
Reacting to the two-week sit-at-home order, Onovo said Simon Ekpa is an impostor claiming to be a member of IPOB.
“He is a senseless coward and a terrorist. He has no mandate of any organisation or any group, talkless of having the mandate of the South-East. Who appointed him to that position? He has been denied by IPOB, he is just a petty criminal. Who is he? On whose authority is he acting? Who does he represent?
Who appointed or elected him? He is a nonentity exploiting the insecurity caused by APC in the country. He is exploiting the weaknesses caused by incompetence and divisiveness.
“I condemn him in totality. First, he cannot take any action because he has no mandate. On whose behalf is he acting? I condemn his action beyond totality. He is a vagabond, leading a band of a few criminals. He is an impostor claiming to be a member of IPOB, but they have denied him. He is an imbecile. Is that the person we should be talking about?”
“All the security forces are controlled by the Federal Government. The police is a law enforcement agency controlled by the Federal Government. These are the weaknesses created by the APC government that Ekpa is exploiting. Is he the kind of person we should talk about? Is he a member of a political party? He is not even a factional leader.”
The two weeks sit-at-home order by Simon Ekpa came hours after a closed-door meeting of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, South-East Governors and political leaders held in Abuja, where they sought an audience with President Bola Tinubu on how to resolve insecurity issue in the region.