Governors of the South East, yesterday, said they were committed in their fight against Methamphetamine, locally known as Mkpuru Mmiri and other hard drugs in the zone.
Chairman of the forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi, in a statement after the governors virtual meeting said they resolved to confiscate any shop or locations where such drugs were sold.
He added that any person or group of persons caught dealing in the drug or in possession of it or other similar hard drugs within the zone must be arrested and made to face the law.
Umahi in the statement said the governors also condemned a trending video in the social media showing brutal killing and beheading of two police officers by hoodlums, adding that investigation was ongoing to ascertain its authenticity.
He vowed that the governors would do everything possible to ensure that security agencies fish out the perpetrators of such evil acts if investigation revealed that it actually happened in the zone.
The governors commended the members of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) for the gradual return of peace in the zone, adding that the governors were working to ensure that those who were misled into violence were properly rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society.
“We thank all our youths for the relative peace we enjoy in South East now. We are committed to your welfare. We want those who were misled to carry arms against our people and security agencies to surrender their arms to the governors and get rehabilitated back to the society. We warn all criminals who have styled themselves as IPOB/ESN to kill our people to immediately stop. We are aware that the insecurity and killings in South East have gone beyond IPOB/ESN as any criminal finds it easy to hide under such a name to commit crimes. We are determined to do everything to protect the lives and properties of our people. Our youths are advised to leverage on the various empowerment and agricultural programmes by our Governors to better their lives.
“On the issue of agitation by the youths, we are reviewing the work of Ohanaeze Ndigbo committees on this matter and will soon call a larger stakeholders’ meeting to address such. All issues relating to the agitation and its fallout are better settled politically and on a negotiation table and we thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – President Muhammadu Buhari for his consideration of a political solution to this problem. He has demonstrated that he is a good father who listens to his children.”
