The Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has said that the Indigenous People of Biafra cannot stop President Muhammadu Buhari from visiting the state.
Umahi was reacting to a statement by the IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, that Buhari should not visit the State,
IPOB had vowed in the statement that it would lock down the South East if such a visit was contemplated.
Umahi, who spoke during the State’s annual Thanksgiving Service at the Government House Chapel, Abakaliki, said Buhari’s visit to the state was already billed for early next year.
He said that projects to be commissioned by Buhari during the visit were being executed as if he was to visit in December.
He said: “I saw where one misguided element that calls himself IPOB, said Mr. President is not welcomed in Ebonyi.
“He is inconsequential and I want you to put it on social media.
“I was in Paris and I told Mr, President that the leaders of the South East would want to visit him over the issue of peace in the South East, and I appealled to him to postpone the visit till early next year.
“But I didn’t want to tell our people because I was urging them to keep pushing our projects as if the President was going to come this year.
“And I’m not sure up to three or four people knew this.
“So, I kept it to myself.
“So, Mr. President will come when we want him to come.
“That IPOB guy is an inconsequential human being.
“If he is serious, let him hit the wall to Ebonyi State and let him see if he would find feet to go back.
“Somebody will sit down somewhere and be talking rubbish and they will be misguiding our children to go and be killed, but himself will not be at the war front.
“Any of them that will talk rubbish about security in South East should come and lead the war.
“And I will also lead the war for Ebonyi State.
“And like David, we will always kill Goliath.
“When they talk rubbish, just ignore them.
“This land belongs to God.”