Okorocha to Meet South-east Govs, Others, over Pro-Biafra Protests
Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Chief Rochas Okorocha, will meet with other governors in the South-east, the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and other stakeholders in the geo-political zone to talk and agree on how to check the activities of pro-Biafra groups in the area.
The meeting is expected to take place this weekend in Owerri, the Imo State capital. Already the governor has begun to make all the necessary contacts to ensure that all those expected at the meeting, would be in attendance.
Okorocha had earlier, while taking exception to the pro-Biafra violent protests in some of the South-east states and few other neighbouring states, disassociated the governors and leaders in the South-east states from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) protest describing the whole exercise as embarrassing, disturbing, counter-productive and to a large extent, distracting.
According to Okorocha, the pro-Biafra protests could not be in the interest of the South-east people but were only sending wrong signals to the rest of Nigerians, stating it has become increasingly necessary for the governors in the zone, Ohanaeze leaders and other stakeholders in the area to meet, to call a spade, a spade.
It is also expected that at the end of the Owerri meeting, the governors and other leaders will take a common position and will also invite the leaders of the pro-Biafra groups for a meeting, to let them know the socio-economic and political implications of their activities including their demand for sovereignty in a united Nigeria.
Okorocha said the governors and leaders in the zone could no longer sit and watch the whole situation degenerating and also noted that the Igbos as a people cannot afford to have its own kind of Boko Haram.
He wondered why the proBiafra apologists kept quiet all these years only to resume their violent protests and activities this time and few months after the new administration in the country came on board.
According to him, the governors are going to take the bull by the horn in the overall interest of Ndigbo in particular and Nigerians in general.
Meanwhile, the governor had also met with the security chiefs in the state on how to ensure that the pro-Biafra protests across the South-east states at the moment won’t be experienced in Imo State.
The governor had also been met with certain categories of the citizenry in the state that may have the temptation of joining the pro-Biafra protest to let them know the futility of such action.