Abia Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, said the face off between federal troops and Biafra agitators might have led to a deadly chaos in the state.
According to him, God’s intervention averted “the greatest bloodbath in history”.
He said this in reaction to the ‘withdrawal’ of troops deployed to Abia for a one-month military exercise code-named “Operation Python Dance”
The governor noted that the presence of the troops sparked tension across Abia.
Ikpeazu spoke on Sunday when he visited the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Abia council to commiserate with journalists over last Tuesday’s invasion of the secretariat by soldiers.
“We are grateful to God for intervening in stopping what could have been the greatest bloodbath known in the history of mankind”, Ikpeazu said.
He also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for reposing confidence in Southeast Governors’ Forum.
‘We thank him for giving us a second chance to talk to our people on the need for us to live as one united nation.”
He added that the Igbos remained the most widely travelled people in Nigeria, living and conducting businesses in every nook and cranny of the country.
The governor put the estimated population of Igbos in the north at about 12 million, with Borno having the least population of about 50,000 Igbo households.
He said Abia needed peace for business to thrive, especially in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state.
“I am very happy to say that normalcy has returned to the state,” he said, adding that Muslims worshipped in their Mosque on Friday in Aba.
Ikpeazu urged residents of the state to go about their lawful businesses, assuring them that government would continue to provide adequate security for lives and property.
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