Who Will You Govern When Igbos Are K!lled?” Orji Kalu Blasts IPOB, Calls Sit-at-Home Orders ‘Self-Destruction

Who Will You Govern When Igbos Are Killed?” Orji Kalu Blasts IPOB, Calls Sit-at-Home Orders ‘Self-Destruction’

Appearing on Arise Television on Sunday, Senator Kalu described the IPOB statement signed by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, as “childish theatre,” accusing the separatist agitators of crippling commerce, terrorising communities, and pushing the region towards economic and social extinction.

Former Abia State Governor and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has dismissed the ultimatum issued to him by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), insisting that the outlawed separatist group has no moral ground to question his public comments on insecurity and enforced sit-at-home killings in the Southeast.

“Over 30,000 people have died through killings tied to sit-at-home and militant actions. Businesses are shut down, families destroyed, communities like Ihiala, Orlu and Uli are graveyards of fear. If Emma Powerful wants credibility, let him show his face on television,” Kalu said.

Kalu insisted that while he supports a political resolution to the incarceration of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, armed intimidation and isolation of Igbo communities cannot be defended.

“Even if they claim they want Biafra, who exactly do they plan to govern when they kill Igbos, stop Igbos from going to work, and pursue traders on Mondays? This is not ideology, it is self-destruction,” he said.

Responding to IPOB’s accusation that he sponsored armed factions including “Autopilot,” Kalu dismissed the allegation as fiction.

“I have never heard that name in my life. As governor, I established Bakassi for law and order. They operated with the SSS, police, and federal agencies. No secret militias, no criminal franchise. If I had the chance again, I would secure Abia the same way,” he said.

He challenged the spokesperson for the separatist organisation to face him in a live televised debate.

“Let Emma Powerful come publicly if he exists beyond press statements. Igbo people have suffered enough. They must stop taking Igbo land hostage,” he said.

Referencing the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Kalu claimed that the Biafran leader himself would reject the current militant path.

I was very close to Ojukwu. He told me the first war was necessary, but a second is no longer necessary. What we have now is not liberation, it is senseless destruction,” he said

On claims that he is fiercely loyal to President Bola Tinubu to outshine other Southeast heavyweights, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and Works Minister Dave Umahi, Kalu said there is “zero rivalry.”

“Ben is like my younger brother. I put him in politics. Umahi has been my friend long before public office. There is no race for Tinubu’s attention. That is media mischief,” he said.

Responding to nationwide calls that President Tinubu should step down if insecurity worsens, Kalu defended the President, blaming destabilisation on global arms proliferation and internal sabotage.

“This is not about Tinubu. We are suffering the fallout of Libya, Mali, Iraq. Terrorists kill Christians and Muslims alike; they kill everywhere. It is wickedness, not ideology,” he said.

Kalu disclosed that his recent border security assessment mission to Cameroon cannot be publicly detailed, insisting that the presidency is pushing “a full border defence strategy.”

Kalu reiterated that the Southeast must return to commerce, investment, and negotiation, not bloodletting.

“There is no commerce left. Mondays are shutdown. Traders live in fear. If they want referendum, they should drop arms and carry flags, not bullets,” he said.

On his daughter, Neya Kalu, listed among ambassadorial nominees and reportedly declining the post, the Senator said her decision is entirely her own.

“She is a Gen Z. She makes personal decisions. The President honoured Abia and the Southeast by nominating her. I did not force any position on her,” he said.

“Enough is enough. Igbo land, our commerce, our dignity, everything is bleeding. You cannot claim to liberate a people you are busy eliminating.”