Ohanaeze to FG: Grant regional autonomy, create state in South-East to douse agitation tension

The apex Igbo cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Monday, said that regional autonomy and the creation of an additional state for South-East would slow down the Biafra agitation.

It stressed that the two were the best options as political solutions to address the activities of Biafran groups and their arrowheads.

In a statement in Abakaliki, the Secretary-General of Chidi Ibeh-led Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, advised the Federal Government to expedite actions that will lead to the creation of additional state for the South-East and granting of full autonomy to federating units of all the regions in the country.

He maintained that the release of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, also known as ‘Sunday Igboho’ from incarceration without addressing the causes of the agitations in Southern Nigeria, would not only worsen the situation at hand but also escalate the activities of the agitators.

Isiguzoro further advised the Federal Government to provide platforms for genuine dialogue with Biafra agitators by initiating a process to interface with neutral Igbo leaders and strictly prohibiting Igbo politicians from the dialogue.

The statement read: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide advise the Federal Government that the best political solutions for the Biafra agitation in the South-East are to provide platforms for genuine dialogue and initiate the process to interface with neutral Igbo leaders by strictly prohibiting Igbo politicians from the dialogue because they are part of the problems in the region.

“We are aware of the international pressures on the Federal Government presently. The Federal Government should not miss the opportunity to seek genuine dialogue with neutral Igbo patriots and elder statesmen, who will genuinely communicate the plights of Igbo without the usual manipulative infusions of South-East politicians.

“The international pressures in respect to the extraordinary rendition of Nnamdi Kanu have opened up extraordinary circumstances that must be explored by both the Federal Government and non-political Igbo leaders.

“The first step expected from the Federal Government is to set in motion mechanism for peaceful dialogue with Igbo religious leaders, Igbo traditional rulers and selected few elder statesmen like Pa Mbazulike Amaechi, Elder KUK Kalu and others.

“It is obvious that Federal Government cannot shy away from peace talks with Igbo before the next court appearance of Nnamdi Kanu on January 19, 2022, with the exclusion of Igbo governors, Igbo National Assembly members, Igbo Federal Executive Council members, Igbo All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in attendance.”