…Kanu’ll soon regain freedom — Gov Otti
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has hinted at what the South East must do for President Ahmed Tinubu to consider the region’s request for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
This is as Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has assured that Kanu will soon regain his freedom, saying that President Tinubu “is favourably disposed towards releasing him.”
Umahi, who gave the hint in Aba while representing the President at the inauguration of several projects executed by Governor Otti, expressed confidence that the efforts by leaders of the zone for a political solution to Kanu’s matter would yield positive results.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South, had earlier in his remarks at the event appealed to the President to release Kanu for calm to return to the South East.
“You have done so many things for us, Mr President, but only one thing has continued to linger. Please, release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to us so we can have absolute peace here,” Senator Abaribe pleaded amid a loud ovation from the mammoth crowd in affirmation.
Governor Otti, responding to Abaribe’s appeal, said he was in talks with President Tinubu, assuring that Kanu would be released sooner than later.
“I can assure you that I am engaging with Mr President, and he is favourably disposed to it.
“And I’m sure that in no distant future, Nnamdi Kanu will regain his freedom,” Otti assured.
Responding to both comments, Umahi, who said he was speaking in his personal capacity, urged South-East people to be “law-abiding and appreciative.”
He acknowledged the collective efforts of Igbo leaders to secure Kanu’s release and expressed optimism that the President would oblige them.
The former Ebonyi State governor said: “Now, I speak in two minutes as your brother, the Minister of Works. I have listened to the messages I have been asked to send to Mr President, and I have listened to the Governor of Abia State.
“I want to assure Senator Abaribe on his request, and the comments of the Governor of Abia State about our brother, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“I know that the governors of the South-East are working very seriously to explore the political solution, together with our senators and members of the House of Representatives, and all the ministers from the South-East. Even those who are not from the South East are committed to this. I ask our people to be very calm and very law-abiding.
“The South-East belongs to us. The President belongs to us. The governors belong to us. I am very confident that with the love of the President for the people of the South-East, for the governors, and the leadership of the South-East, that which we seek—the peaceful resolution of the matter of Nnamdi Kanu—will come to pass. But we must be law-abiding. We must be very appreciative.”
Senator Umahi explained that contrary to misconceptions, President Tinubu “loves the South East region.”
“We must know that this President has taken the South-East to the centre of activities of our nation. The South East got the Ministry of Works, and it’s not an ordinary ministry. This is a very strong Ministry of Works, which is really working and will not forget the South-East in our face.
“Be not afraid. God is with us. The President has remembered us.
Never again shall we be forgotten. I was a governor in Ebonyi State and didn’t witness any federal projects.
“But today, everywhere you turn to, you will see President Bola Ahmed Tinubu taking good developmental projects. So, I have the right to say this is the gift of the President to the people of the South-East. We have been remembered, and we have been fully remembered.
“We will appreciate him and continue to seek for hope, so that we can cover all the lost grounds, all the neglect, all the times we were discriminated against.”
Ahead of Tinubu’s visit to Abia, there were peaceful protests by groups, including Igbo elders and Judaism adherents, calling for Kanu’s release.
Kanu has remained incarcerated at the Abuja headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) since June 2021, following his extraordinary rendition from Kenya.
