Enugu’s government meets with Tinubu to discuss Kanu, reiterates the prohibition on sit-at-home.

Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, has been held in custody since 2021 after being detained again in Kenya, and Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has started negotiations with President Bola Tinubu to secure his release.

The release of Kanu will be consistent with the President’s plan for national healing, as he pledged on May 29, Mbah told State House Correspondents on Thursday after a private meeting with Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.

Kanu was detained in Kenya exactly two years ago and extradited to Nigeria, where he was charged with seven terrorism-related offenses.

Mbah claimed that while at the villa, he talked about the prospect of releasing the secessionist activist who has just received a number of favorable court rulings on his prosecution.

The release of Kanu, according to the new governor, would be Tinubu’s gesture of goodwill toward the region of the South-East where the IPOB leader is 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.

“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 emphasised.

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.