Middle Belt: ‘Reject IPOB’s Sit-At-Home’

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has rejected the recent call by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on the Middle Belt region to join its sit-at-home campaign, calling on governors to seal shops that are being closed in solidarity with IPOB.
In a statement signed by the group’s national president, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the group said the North had come a long way in understanding the use of constitutional and democratic means of channelling legitimate grievances, and cannot, therefore, be a party to any undemocratic move.
AYCF lamented that the governors of the South-East seemed to be satisfied with the activities of IPOB, expressing hope that they would continue with the sit-at-home for another ten years.
“We call on northern governors to step up action to ensure this outlawed terror gang called IPOB does not infiltrate the region.
“We also expect the governors to ensure that any Northerner who shuts down his shop in solidarity with IPOB, should have his shop sealed forever,” the group warned.
Yarima further said they would not fold their arms and watch the North get further destabilized by a violent strategy, adding that the region already had its hands full with challenges of insecurity.
AYCF condemned the use of killings and arson to press home a demand that the democratic process in existence would have taken care of.
The group called on Northerners of good conscience to avoid any undemocratic means, including the burning of government-owned structures, where fellow Nigerians legitimately work to feed their families.
Also, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) on Monday threatened to get businesses of Igbos living in the North revoked if they complied with the one-month sit-at-home order declared by the IPOB.
The outlawed group had threatened to direct Igbos across Nigeria to observe a one-month sit-at-home order if the federal government failed to release their leader, NnamdiKanu.
Fielding questions from journalists in Abuja after a press briefing, the CNG spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, described the development in the South-East as “unfortunate”, saying the Northern youths would not tolerate the Igbos complying with IPOB’s directive while they live in the North.