Elections in the South-East Won’t Be Affected by Violence—Abaribe

The senator urged the governors of the South to cooperate and resolve the issue of unrest in the region.

Enyinnaya Abaribe, the senator for Abia South District, has told Nigerians that the disturbance in the country’s south-east geopolitical zone won’t disrupt the region’s 2023 elections.

Abaribe also urged the South-East’s five governors to work together to permanently end the region’s turmoil rather than trying to do so on their own.

“We haven’t heard that all the governors have met in a while.” They are the states’ top security officials, he said on Channel Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday.”Everyone will follow when they unite and take a position, but each of them seems to want to act alone, and that is not working because this is a regional issue.”

For instance, if you chase someone in Imo, they will flee to Anambra, then if you pursue them in Anambra, they will flee to Ebonyi, and finally if you pursue them in Ebonyi, they will flee to Enugu.

To bring peace to Igboland, we must all work together and tirelessly. I assure you that this won’t have an impact on the election. You’ll see that the elections in the South-East will be free and fair, and that BVAS will enable the results to reveal whether or not the electorate has confidence in the candidates.

There are only a few weeks left until the February 25 presidential election, and rogue hoodlums have destroyed many of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) south-east offices. In addition, dozens of security personnel have been murdered by gunmen, raising concerns about the security of the upcoming elections.

Abaribe attributed the south’s insecurity to outside forces that work with some locals to prevent people from exercising their rights in a free and impartial manner.

The lawmaker said he met with Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which has been labeled a terrorist group and is being held by the Department of State Services (DSS). Kanu, the lawmaker said, told him that Mondays are sit-at-home days only in the five states in the zone: Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu.

All that has happened, according to the congressman, is that some dealers in death and devastation have gained control and begun to perpetrate crimes. When they do so, they then blame one group or another.