Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Adherence to the sit-at-home declaration by proscribed Igbo separatists Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) failed in major areas of Asaba, the Delta State capital, Thursday.
Asaba, a major gateway to eastern Nigeria, is said to be the stronghold of the secessionist group.
Business owners, schools and corporate organizations ignored the call by IPOB, as residents went about their daily lives unmolested.
Read also: Sit-at-home: Partial compliance in Awka
Activities as the popular Ogbonogono Market along Nnebisi Road were in full swing at about noon after traders had earlier observed the daily sanitation rule imposed by local authorities.
Movement was also not restricted as commercial vehicles were on the road going about their usual business.
Speaking on the development, Asaba native Douglas Chukwurah said such a call by IPOB “cannot and will never work in this part of the country which is the Niger Delta or South-South.
“Those in the South-East can sit at home if they have nothing to do, but for us in Asaba today is not a weekend, neither is it a national holiday. People should go about their activities and forget about the directive.”
On the other hand, the ever busy Benin-Asaba-Onitsha expressway witnessed very low vehicular traffic, due to the near total compliance of the east to the IPOB call.
Commercial buses did not ply the road Onitsha from Asaba due to the lack of passengers who had first information that shops on Onitsha might be closed for the day.
However, in Okwe, the focal point of IPOB support in Asaba, schools and shops were closed in compliance with the sit-at-home directive.