Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State on Wednesday described the agitations for secession by IPOB and MASSOB as “madness”.
He also said that counter-secessionist groups may rise in the South-East zone if the IPOB does not call its members to order and stop the threats and killings.
He stated this less than 24 hours after the Enugu expanded meeting of the South-East Governors, traditional rulers, National Assembly members and clergy from the area, during which they alleged that it was the Igbo in Diaspora, not members of the outlawed IPOB, that were behind the massive killings in the South East.
There were insinuations that the South-East leaders were not on the same page when it comes to decision making; hence the escalation of the crisis in the region.
Umahi, a member of the ruling APC, who doubles as the Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, tackled IPOB when he appeared on Channels Television’s morning show, ‘Sunrise Daily’.
The governor lamented that IPOB and other separatists in the South East were being given a push by “pretentious agitations” in the South West and other parts of the country.
He said, “Meanwhile, every elite in the South East is not desirous of Biafra, we don’t want Biafra. We want to be treated equally like other regions in Nigeria.
“So, this idea of Biafra, Biafra is madness and we have said no, we don’t want Biafra,” he said.