By Cajetan Mmuta, Awka
Smarting from intense pressure by concerned Ndigbo and stakeholders across the country over the fate of Southeast geo political zone, members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Sunday announced suspension of the planned sit-at-home order.
The order by IPOB scheduled was billed to commence today had been suspended due to the on going National Examination Council (NECO) Exam for junior secondary schools.
The group in a statement said a new date for the commencement of the sit-at-home order, would be announced later.
IPOB had penultimate week, in what seemed to be in solidarity with its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, ordered for sit-at-home that would be observed every Monday throughout Igbo land, starting from August 9.
The move is to compel the federal government to ensure timely release of Mazi Kanu.
A statement issued by the younger brother of the IPOB leader, Mr. Kanunta Kanu said the group arrived at the decision, after listening to pleas from well meaning individuals and groups within and outside Biafra land that the order be suspended to allow students from Igbo land to participate in the NECO Exam.
He said, “IPOB has listened to pleas from well-meaning individuals and groups within and outside Biafra land that we consider the fate of our children who will be involved in the NECO Exam and based on that, we decided to shift grounds over the sit-at-home order”.
The statement stated that IPOB on its part, having realized the academic deprivation the already marginalized Biafra students who entered for this year’s NECO would suffer, decided to suspend the sit-at-home order to a later date, to allow the students take their exams.
Kanu noted that allowing the sit-at-home to go ahead as earlier announced, in the face of the NECO Exam would amount to assisting enemies of Biafra to inflict more injuries on her children.
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“As a group fighting for the liberation of her people from oppression from her enemies, we realized that it would amount to assisting the said enemies to inflict more harm on our children if we do not suspend the sit-at-home order to allow Biafra students take their exams”.
The group maintained that the sit-at-home order has not been cancelled, but only suspended for the sake of Biafra students taking this year’s NECO Exam.
It however called on all IPOB global family members and Biafrans at large to await further directives in this regard.
Findings showed that leaderships of most markets across states in the Southeast and beyond had issued notices to traders, market women and trasnporters about the sit at home order and closure of all business outlets in the geo political zone.
Also, governors of some of the states in the Southeast have launched pressure on workers to ignore the order by IPOB and be in their work places or be ready to lose their salary for the month of August
