Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has said that residents of the State cannot afford to stay at home for two weeks in compliance with the directive issued by the Simon Ekpa’s faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

Otti said this on Monday in Abuja, the Federal capital, on the sideline of a security meeting convened by the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu to address issues of insecurity in the South-East, which was attended by the Governors of the region.

The Abia Governor said only a handful of people were benefitting from the sit-at-home order, using the instrument of fear to intimidate the people and as such, the government cannot sit and watch them succeed.

“Governments all over the world cannot be threatened and we need to sound that note of warning.

“You cannot afford to sit at home when you have work to do. A lot of people live on a daily basis; the taxi drivers, the keke drivers, the woman that is selling pepper in the market, if she sits at home for two weeks, she will die of hunger.

“So, it (the order) is null and void,” Otti told journalists after the security meeting.

During the meeting, Otti and his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodinma were present, while the Governors of Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi sent their representatives.

Chief of Defense Staff, Major General Christopher Musa also attended the security meeting.