IPOB: Soludo, Ozigbo, Uba Call for Dialogue With Proscribed Group
- Three major governorship candidates in the forthcoming Anambra governorship election have restrained from condemning IPOB
- Instead, the candidates called for dialogue between the federal government and the proscribed group
- The candidates made their stance known in a debate organised for them by a TV station and streamed live across the country
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Awka - Three candidates in the Anambra governorship election slated for November 6 have called on the federal government to dialogue with the Indigenous People of Biafra, a secessionist group proscribed by the Buhari administration.
The candidates made the call during a debate organised by Arise News in conjunction with Enough is Enough Nigeria on Monday, November 1 in Awka, the Anambra state capital.
Source: Getty Images
The candidates are Senator Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Professor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking on the issue, Uba, a two-term senator who represented Anambra South Senatorial Distrcit in the Senate said:
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“I believe in engagement. If you don’t engage them, how will you know what their problem is? I believe in engagement to dialogue because their problem is work, no jobs.
“In 2007 when I ran for governor of Anambra state, I engaged the MASSOB group that was involved. I went to visit the leader Ralph Uwazuruike in prison and talked to him about their stance against election in Anambra.
“I said let’s sit down and talk about it, and at the end we got it ironed out and there was election without violence.”
Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said the group deserves to be heard.
His words:
“I’m on record to have said that IPOB deserves to be heard, that the agitation cannot be shot down by a gun.
“We need to have a dialogue, bring everybody to the table and discuss those specific issues that are their agitation.”
On his part, Ozigbo, a chartered accountant turned politician, blamed the federal and state governments for the way the group’s agitation has turned out.
He said:
“There are certain things IPOB does through agitation that I support. But when they get to some extreme, I condemn them.
“The real issue is where is the heart of all of this? If not for the way the states and the federal government have handled IPOB, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
“Let’s start by accepting responsibility. We created extremism, so we need the right person to inspire hope for that dialogue to happen.
“When they see you as the problem already, you can’t be the one to negotiate.”
Ozigbo earlier called for release of Nnamdi Kanu
Recall that PDP's Ozigbo recently called for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB from detention.
Ozigbo also called for a different approach in addressing the agitations for self-determination in the country.
He also advocated that non-violent and diplomatic means of addressing the calls for secession should be adopted.
Abaribe says 'no election' directive not from Nnamdi Kanu
In a related development, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe has revealed that Kanu never gave the order for elections not to hold in Anambra state.
Senator Abaribe made the submission on Thursday, October 28 when he addressed a town hall meeting with the leadership and students of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
While addressing the students, the Senate minority leader revealed that he called Kanu's lawyer, who confirmed that the order did not come from the IPOB leader, accusing unknown fifth columnists of engineering the rumours.
Source: Legit.ng
