Imo State Govt Ignores IPOB Threat, Says It Is Ready To Receive President Buhari

The government of Imo State has declared that all is in order and plans to receive President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday are on track.

The Imo State Commissioner for Infomation, Declan Emelumba who gave the assurance on Tuesday said all necessary things are been done to receive the President safely and warmly.

Naija News reports that President Buhari is scheduled for a working visit to the southeastern state on Thursday but ahead of the planned visit, the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has reportedly declared Thursday, September 9, 2021, as sit-at-home in Imo State.

The directive was made known in a broadcast on Monday evening by IPOB-HDOS, Mazi Chika Edoziem.

The proscribed pro-Biafra group stated that Buhari is not “welcomed into Imo State, Biafra Land on Thursday, 9th September 2021.”

But on Tuesday, Emelumba told journalists in Owerri, the state capital that all arrangements are in top gear to receive the President on Thursday.

He added that during the visit, President Buhari will commission projects executed by the administration of Governor Hope Uzodinma in Imo over the past 18 months.

“We are very much prepared to receive Mr President in Imo. All arrangements are in top gear.

“On arrival, he is expected to commission projects, including Naze-Nekede-Ihiagwa-Obinze Link Road Phase One and an underground tunnel on D-Tiger Road Owerri,” the commissioner said.

He added that “his (Buhari) visit would enable Imo citizens to see and welcome the president, first hand,”

Other projects slated for inauguration include the Egbeada Bye-Pass and the new State Executive Council Chambers at the Government House, among others.

Meanwhile, the presence of security agents caused tensions in Abia State, on Tuesday, as Aloy Ejimakor, a lawyer of the leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, approached the court over the pro-Biafra activist’s health.

It was gathered that due to the appearance of Ejimakor at the court, security agents, which include military, police and other agencies, had cordoned off the premises of the court.

This led to fear among residents and road users in Umuahia, the state capital.

Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer had filed an exparte order asking the court to make an interim order of release of Kanu to attend to his health in any medical facility of his choice in Nigeria, pending the hearing of the motion, amongst other things

He asked the court for the substitution service on the motion on notice for the third and fourth respondents.