From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has decried the economic losses in the South East geo-political zone, as a result of the sit-at-home order imposed on the zone by some non-state actors.
Kalu, while receiving a delegation from the Aba Creatives Collective, the organisers of Aba Fashion Show, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office, in Abuja, reiterated calls for an end to the sit-at-home.
Special Assistant on Press Affairs to the Deputy Speaker, Udora Orizu, said the sit-at-home has led to loss of manpower, increasing unemployment and exodus of investors from the region. Consequently, he urged the Igbo to reject the sit-at-home agenda, and say no to the fear sold by “these faceless individuals who don’t mean any good for the indigenes.”
Nevertheless, Kalu lauded the upcoming Aba Fashion Show, coming up in Abuja, next month, saying it aligns with the objectives of highlighting the rich cultural heritage and artistic talents of Abia people.
His words: “I am genuinely excited about Aba Fashion Week, an initiative that promotes our local economy. I know what fashion, fashion designing, tailoring anything that has to do with clothing can do to an economy, because we talk about the three basic needs of man, shelter, food and clothing.
“The economic losses that the region has suffered by the sit-at-home agenda of the non-state actors has integrated impediments to regional growth, regional economic integration, even into our regional leadership integration and into regional development integration.
“It has affected the fabric of everything that we hold dearly. Now fashion designers are feeling the direct impacts because investors are saying the place is not activated for their investment. And the pain in your hearts is the same pain that is felt by those in all sectors of our economy, in the agricultural sector they are crying, because post harvest productions that are supposed to be taken to the markets are destroyed at home due to sit at home.
“The educational sector is suffering because students can no longer go to school freely, without fear. Why we’ll think about fashion week, let’s think about mindsets that is devoid of sentiments imposed on all by non-state actors, who want to sell to us, Laziness when our people are hard working people.
Our people don’t sit at home, we don’t relax at home; our people are farmers so we farm. We are fashion designers and tailors so we make clothes. We are bricklayers so we build houses. We are not home sitters.”