IPOB members are poorly educated children, not terrorists – Okorocha

The former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, on Thursday described members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as poorly educated children.

The governor stated this in a chat with State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Imo West senator had earlier in the week claimed that IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu and members of the group were taking advantage of the naivety and disenchantment of the South-East people against the Nigerian State.

But in a swift reaction, the group in a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, branded the former governor a “selfish and hypocritical politician whose tenure in Imo State was better forgotten.”

IPOB also accused Okorocha of sponsoring gunmen to wreak havoc in the state and vowed to expose him soon.

But the ex-governor told journalists on Thursday that Governor Hope Uzodinma’s administration mismanaged the security problems in the state.

READ ALSO: IPOB accuses Okorocha of sponsoring gunmen in Imo, brands ex-governor hypocrite

He said: “Wherever things are not working well, hold the leadership responsible. I was Governor of Imo State for eight years. And within those eight years, there was absolute peace in that land. IPOB did exist. And all these additional forces existed too.

“It is the poor handling by the state government that exacerbated this to what it is today. If I had remained the governor of the state at this time, you wouldn’t hear what you’re hearing.

“IPOB are our young men, our sons and daughters, and let no Igbo man tell you otherwise. They believe that they have been marginalised in terms of infrastructure and appointments, and they’ve believed this for a long time. But we’re able to assuage them and give them confidence that things will get better.

“But there was no need to have handled the IPOB matter the way it was handled. I don’t support any of them either. Today they have turned out to be terrorists. But for me, I don’t see them as terrorists. I see them as children who have not been properly educated on the happenings.”

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