Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has denied offering N3million for the capture of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
His Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Sam Hart, in a Twitter on Tuesday, debunked the allegations.
Hart claimed that Ikpeazu received criticisms for protecting Northerners in the state, during their clashes with IPOB members last week.
He wrote: “Gov Okezie Ikpeazu has received flak for his protection of Northerners in Abia State & not allowing them to be attacked. I’ll explain why.
“While there are approximately 1,000 Northerners in Abia State, there are conversely 2M Abians spread around Northern Nigeria & Abuja.
“While the total investments of Northerners in Abia State may not exceed N10M per time, the investment of Abians in the North nears N100B.
“While it will take every Northerner in Abia State just one day to pack up & leave Abia, Abians have properties that are immovable in North.
“While every Northerner in Abia State can be outside of Abia & danger in 30 mins, Abians in the North can travel 8hrs & still be in the North
“While Northerners in Abia State are itinerant traders & the likes, Abians in the North are Hoteliers, School Proprietors & the likes.
“While no single Northerner has acquired a square foot of land in Abia State, Abians own extensive properties in the entire North.
“The implication of all these is that if harm is done to Northerners in Abia State & there is a reprisal, the ratio of damage will be 1:10000
“It is not cowardice. It is leadership. A Leader takes a decision in the best interest of the greater number of his people come what may.
“To get back at Gov Ikpeazu for not allowing them spill consequential blood,they are spreading tales that he is offering N3M for NK’s capture.
“While Nigerians think he did not do enough to clamp down on IPOB activities, Biafrans think he did too much & are up in arms against him.
“It was @i_am_Anomeli that once tweeted the wisdom that in times of reprisals in the North, every non Hausa is Nyamiri & so ‘attackable’.
“Had Hausas been killed in Abia State & reprisals occurred in the North, people from all over Nigeria would have been at risk. This is FACT.
“Had Gov Okezie Ikpeazu not taken steps to douse the tension & protect Northerners, Nigeria would have still been a burning cauldron.
“Mighty kudos too to Northern Governors who rose to the occasion and ensured that there were no consequential uprisings in their states.
“The Northern Community told the Govs yesterday that fellow traders in Aba hid them in their houses until they could get to safe locations.
“These fellow traders were Igbo. Aba people who did not subscribe to the activities of IPOB. They hid Hausas in their houses for protection.
“There are lessons in all of this. Lessons in leadership. Lessons in unity. Lessons in not tarring all with the brush of one.Lessons in peace
“May God continue to keep us safe. A National Crisis was averted last week. God bless all who played one part or another.”
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