IPOB Sit-At-Home: Governor Alex Otti Ensures WASSCE Continuity, Prioritizes Peace

In recognition of the Independent People Of Biafra (IPOB) sit-at-home day, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has declared that essential measures are being implemented to ensure the West Africa Senior Student Certificate Examination (WASSCE) proceeds as planned.

The Governor disclosed that his administration has no intention of engaging in unnecessary disputes with the IPOB group’s May 30 sit-at-home directive in memory of those who lost their lives during the Nigerian civil war.

Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma, the governor affirmed that individuals have the right to grieve their deceased loved ones.

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Governor Alex Otti further stated that the government is liaising with schools to ensure that students currently participating in the West African Examination Council, WAEC, exams in the state do not experience any negative impact. He said, “Government is in touch with all the schools affected to see what could be done so that WAEC exams are not disrupted. We are in touch with schools on how to handle the situation.”

He added, “It’s something we are handling with wisdom and diplomacy. We are engaging with all the actors that are involved. We are putting measures in place that the Government may not want to make public. The most important thing is to see what we can do to ensure that students write their exams. There are things we don’t want to disclose. But be assured that we are putting measures in place to ensure there is peace in Abia State.”

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Reinforcing his strategy to avoid interference with the Biafra day, he expressed, “We are not interested in unnecessary confrontation with the people who are appealing for sit-at-home in honour of their dead ones. They have every right to mourn their own, especially going by the history of that war. It’s something we shouldn’t politicize. It was an emotional period when we remember the genocidal onslaught. We don’t have any interest in confronting those who are asking people to observe that moment of honour for those who were victims of the genocidal war.”