The apex socio-cultural Igbo group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, has again appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other Igbos in prison.
The group made the call at an emergency meeting held in Enugu state on Thursday.
Speaking on behalf of the group, the President General, Professor George Obiozor, noted that the release of Nnamdi Kanu and other Igbos in detention was important for the sake of national unity.
Relying on the need for the government to work out ways to douse the tension in the country especially in the South East region, Obiozor said the continued detention of their son is an onslaught on equity and fairness.
“We appeal to Mr President to go for a political solution and try to release our son, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other Igbos in detention across the country. We seek healing, national unity and progress on the platform of justice, equity, fairness and sense of belonging for Nigerians.”
The sociocultural group also re-echoed its unequivocal demand for the next president of Nigeria to come from the South East in 2023, adding that anything short of that violates the principle of rotation technique on which Nigeria’s democracy is based.
*Nigerian students ‘battle-ready’ to end ASUU strike, NANS tells FG*
Sunday Asefon, the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), said on Thursday that the union was ready to take to the streets to protest the continued strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities’ strike.
Mr Asefon made the remark on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.
According to Mr. Asefon, the government appears uninterested in resolving the strike as attention turns to the 2023 elections.
“We are talking about education, we are talking about life. Our life is no longer being discussed by the leaders, these leaders that we elected; but rather, their focus now is about the election. This election that we are talking about is because of their parochial and selfish interest.
“We are battle-ready, the highest they can do is to shoot us. If they shoot, they will ask their police to shoot us, if we die, the generation coming will know we died because of fighting for them. They would also know that they shot us because they are preparing for election. But we need to take action,” Asefon noted.
Mr. Asefon suggested that the government refrain from politicising the ASUU issue.
“If you have an opportunity to meet the ASUU and federal government, the federal government will tell you they inherited the problem from PDP, the ASUU will tell you this negotiation has been on since when Jonathan was there but what we believe as students is that government is continuous; they should be able to fine-tune and find a solution to this matter.
“We should not be at the receiving end every time and as such, they should stop using us to play politics,” the NANS President stated.
On February 14, ASUU began a four-week warning strike.
The union prolonged the strike for another two months on March 14 to allow the government to meet all of its requests.
Academics are demanding better working conditions, the revitalization of public universities, and academic autonomy, among other things.
The non-payment of university revitalisation monies, which total roughly N1.1 trillion, is a source of frustration for academics.
However, the Federal Government has stated that it does not have the funds to pay such a sum, blaming low oil prices during President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.
*IPOB slams Wike over ‘hypocritical support’ of Biafra agitation*
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the Rivers State Governor and presidential aspirant, Nyesom Wike, of being worse than “Biafran foes”.
The group described Wike as a dishonest liar who opposes the Biafra cause.
Wike’s statement that he supports IPOB’s Biafra movement prompted the organisation to react.
The presidential candidate stated that he supports IPOB‘s Biafra movement but not its use of violence.
The group urged Wike to quit wasting energy and promised to never forget the horrors he carried out during the EndSARS rally.
Wike’s alleged role in the Obigbo killings during the EndSARS rally was recounted by IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful in the statement released on Thursday.
Powerful insisted that Wike was under the influence of something for claiming he supported the Biafra agitation.
The statement by Powerful reads: “The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra under the command and leadership of our great leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU has been drawn to the recent statement by Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, claiming that he supports IPOB agitation against the Fulani terrorist government of Nigeria.
“The recent statement from Wike and his cronies shows that he is under the influence of something by saying that. Is it not the same Wike who classified IPOB as a violent organisation and ordered us to keep off from Rivers State? How NIGERIA politicians lie blatantly without shame! Just because of politics.
“We know our friends and supporters, and they know us. Wike should stop dissipating his energy because he will not escape judgement for his wickedness against his fellow Biafrans who he denied. The Obigbo genocide will always hunt Wike.
“Wike, stop lying. You are not supporting Biafra. If you are, go and secure the release of all those kidnapped in Obigbo at your behest by the Nigerian Army and detained in different army barracks in Abuja and Northern Nigeria, the same way you secured your nomination and expression of interest forms. Pursue the Biafra cause the same way you are pursuing your presidential project. Then we will be convinced you truly support our agitation.”
