Mbah declares no more Enugu sit-at-home

With effect starting on Monday, June 6, 2023, Enugu State Governor Dr. Peter Mbah has ruled that sit-at-home orders are no longer allowed in the state because they limit ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and productivity.

However, he stated that the government was “willing to engage in dialogue with people who have genuine grievances in order to bring lasting peace and security to Enugu State.”

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At the same time, he urged President Bola Tinubu to free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in order to hasten Nigeria’s urgently needed healing process.

Mbah made the statement Thursday at the Government House in Enugu while outlining the decisions made following his first security council meeting with the heads of all security agencies.

The Governor reminded the citizens of Enugu that he had started off strong on the day of his inauguration by signing three executive orders for the state’s good governance, including Executive Order 002 for the removal of “Unauthorised Street Barriers Across the State Within 100 Days.” The Deputy Governor, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, was also present at the meeting.

“Time is of the essence. The deadline for the mandate you gave me and the deliverables I pledged has passed, he said.

“A people must decide at some point in their lives whether they truly want to advance or stay confined to the circumstances of their underdevelopment.

“The Ndi Igbo’s creativity and work ethic are amazing. We are born with an aptitude for business and entrepreneurship.

If this is how we are perceived, it is inconsistent with reality to say that every Monday in our country, the spirit of entrepreneurship, commerce, and creativity is put to death. Our industry’s restless spirit detests complacency and indolence.

“It is abhorrent and contrary to greatness and the spirit of industry we claim to have inherited from our ancestors to sit at home on Monday, the first working and business day of the week. That cannot be us. (May God forbid) Tufiakwa. He continued, “It causes us enormous harm.

Mbah reminded the populace that the prosperity of the state’s economy was directly related to the lofty promises he had made to them.

“In order for us to transition from a public service economy to one that is driven by the private sector, we must free our markets from the chains of trade restrictions. If we really want to attract more private sector workers and investors to Enugu State, we must realise that this won’t happen if people see us as unproductive people.

Therefore, those who go on strike every Monday and stifle the creative spirit of the Igbo people cannot truly represent us. They actually destroy our spirit.

“We are aware of the commercial potential of our land. To succeed and generate revenue, businesses, entrepreneurs, and trade need a thriving workforce and sizable markets.

“There will, therefore, be no sit-at-home day observed starting on Monday, June 6, 2023, throughout the entirety of Enugu State.

“Government will use all of its resources to enforce this.

“My charge to all of you – market men and women, the corporate world, industries, schools, civil servants, and all strata of workers in Enugu State – is that we must reclaim our sense of industry, pride of place, and recreate our glorious past.

He continued, “By answering this call, you would have put us on the road to actualizing our mandate.”

Mbah disagreed, stating that the nation’s healing depended on Kanu’s release.

“I urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our recently sworn-in leader, to actively work for MazI Nnamdi Kanu’s release. We think that his release will hasten Nigeria’s current healing process.

It will also serve as a sign that his administration has extended brotherly fellowship to Ndigbo, he said.