South East Leaders Applaud Region's Restraint on #EndBadGovernance

SE Governors Praise Citizens for Shunning Protest

Mbah, Otti, Umahi commend South East for protest boycott...

South-East governors and Minister Umahi praise region for not joining #EndBadGovernance protests, citing avoidance of losses and goodwill towards Federal Government.

Governors Peter Mbah of Enugu and Alex Otti of Abia, along with Minister of Works David Umahi, have praised the South-East region for its notable absence from the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests. The demonstrations, which began on Thursday, have swept across most parts of Nigeria, but the South East has remained unaffected.

During a project inspection tour in Enugu on Sunday, Governor Mbah and Minister Umahi commended the region's restraint, citing the avoidance of potential losses and the demonstration of goodwill towards the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu. Their remarks highlighted the region's decision to abstain from the protests as a wise and beneficial choice.

“I want to take the opportunity to commend our people greatly for heeding our call to shun the protests and go about their business. We commend them highly because they understand the value of hard-work," Mbah, of the People's Democratic Party, said.

“Sometimes, you may not be able to appreciate the effect of government policies immediately, but I tell you that some of these policies are well- intentioned. With time, if we can just exercise a little more patience with the Federal Government, we are going to begin to see the values of these reforms.

“We want to continue to call on our people to go about their business and know that if they destroy our assets, we are still going to use the wealth of our common patrimony to fix those assets. So, we must remain focused and continue to do our work.”

Minister of Works and former Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, noted that the people of the South-East and Igbo communities nationwide have made a powerful statement by choosing not to participate in the anti-government protests, their absence speaking volumes.

“We are not going to protest. We want proper integration in the affairs of this country. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Mr President, started it by making an Igbo man the Minister of Works, and appointing an Igbo man as a service chief, among others,” said Umahi, of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

“We have been excluded from governance and development in the past. But now, you can see infrastructural developments in the South-East. So, why should we protest against a man who has given to us what was never given to us before?

“I thank Governor Mbah very much for showing leadership not only in developmental strides but also when it mattered most. I appreciate other governors and other states that did protest,” Umahi said.

Abia State Governor Alex Otti, of the Labour Party, praised the residents of Abia for their wise decision to stay away from the nationwide protests, demonstrating their maturity and restraint in the face of economic challenges.

Speaking on Saturday while observing the Sabbath worship at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Aba, Otti said, “I want to use this opportunity to thank you and Abia people who listened to my plea not to come out, pour into the roads and disrupt services and activities and probably visit mayhem on the people.”

Prior to the protests, Governor Alex Otti had urged the people of Abia State to refrain from participating in the demonstrations during a private breakfast meeting with Labour Party's presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who contested in the 2023 election.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had issued a statement earlier, advising South Easterners to distance themselves from the protests. Instead, the group emphasized the region's priority lies in advocating for a referendum to secede from Nigeria and securing the release of their detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.