Enugu gov meets Tinubu over Kanu, restates sit-at-home ban

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has initiated talks with President Bola Tinubu on the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in detention since 2021 following his re-arrest in Kenya.

After a private meeting with Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, Mbah told State House Correspondents that releasing Kanu would be in line with the President’s agenda for national healing as he promised on May 29.
It has been exactly two years since Kanu was arrested on Kenyan soil and extradited to Nigeria where he faced seven counts bordering on terrorism.

At the Villa, Mbah said he discussed the possible release of the secessionist agitator who has recently had a series of favourable court judgements over his prosecution.

The new governor said Kanu’s release would be Tinubu’s way of extending a hand of fellowship to the South-East where the IPOB leader hails from.

“We also, of course, talked about the release of Nnamdi Kanu.

“You know that the South-East has made a collective demand to have Nnamdi Kanu released, and we basically identified with that.
“Mr President has, in his inaugural address, promised the people that he’s going to engender national healing and he’s going to serve with compassion. So, we’ve basically informed him that this would serve as a pointer to his administration’s extension of hands of fellowship,” Mbah said.

The governor restated his ban on Monday sit-at-home in Enugu to drive private sector investments.

“We also had that conversation with Mr President. We have made a very strong announcement. We’ve banned sit-at-home on Mondays in Enugu.

“And obviously, what that means is that we will, of course, need to, you know, heighten our security, tackle the challenges that would flow from that, and, you know, essentially that’s what I have come to do.”

He also disclosed that he called for the Federal Government’s assistance to explore the abundant and untapped mineral resources in Enugu State for the benefit of the people.

“We’ve taken a bold view of what the new group could achieve in the next four years, in terms of growing our economy from the current levels to $30bn.

“We have a number of dormant assets in Enugu, which we believe partnering with the Federal Government, we’re able to transform them into productive assets,” the governor said.