Southeast governors distance themselves from calls for secession and Ipob's sit-at-home protest

GOVERNORS of the five Igbo states of the southeast geo-political zone have distanced themselves from the ongoing calls for the recreation of the breakaway Biafran republic saying that they believe in Ndigbo remaining part of Nigeria.

Today is Biafra Remembrance Day as it was 30 years ago on May 30 1967 that the breakaway republic was first declared. To mark the day, secessionist campaigners like the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) have called for a sit-in across the southeast, urging Igbos not to go to work.

Amid a tense atmosphere, the security forces have stepped up their presence across Igboland, to prevent a breakdown of law and order. In response to the calls for secession, the Forum of Southeast Governors have declared that they believe Ndigbo will be best served by remaining part and parcel of Nigeria.

Governor David Umahi, the chairman of the Southeast Governors Forum, said that the southeast governors and indeed most Igbo leaders believe that the peculiar and collective aspiration of all Nigerians can yield to calm, reasoned, deliberate and dispassionate negotiations. He added that Ndigbo cannot find those solutions by taking actions that will do nothing but further retard their progress, pointing out that the forum strongly believes that a negotiated settlement is the best strategy.

“It would be a tragic dereliction of our responsibility as leaders if we failed to take a clear and definitive stand at this potentially explosive moment in the history of Ndigbo at home and in the diaspora and our compatriots within the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The southeast governors are fully aware of the saturation of various news and information outlets, particularly the social media platforms, with the call by leaders of a movement known as Ipob, who are agitating for cessation from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and formation of sovereign state of Biafra," Governor Umahi added.

In addition, the governors advised Ipob and other groups agitating for the actualisation of sovereign state of Biafra, to desist from embarking on the sit-at-home protest, so as not to plunge Igboland into irredeemable conflagration. They stated that Igbos will not secede from Nigeria as that would not be in the interest of southeast zone.

Furthermore, the governors said that most Igbo leaders believe that the peculiar and collective aspiration of all Nigerians can yield to calm, reasoned, deliberate and dispassionate negotiations. Governor Umahi said that Ndigbo cannot find those solutions by taking actions that will do nothing but further retard their progress.