New Telegraph

Igbo Conference of Elders calls for maximum action against IPOB

Nnamdi Kanu )

Nnamdi Kanu )

 

Our Reporter

Prominent Igbo elders have charged relevant authorities of government to deal decisively with members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), saying the current level of  force being deployed might not be enough to curb their violent excesses.
The elders reasoned that decisive  force was required at this time, considering recent events, which suggest that IPOB was determined to undermine security and peace in the South East, which is an integral part of the country.
The elders, who operate under the aegis of Conference of  Concerned Igbo Elders for Peace and National Unity, condemned the violent campaigns of members of the separatist group, while calling on Igbo sons and daughters at home and in the diaspora, to dissociate themselves from the group, with a view to sending a strong message across, that IPOB does not represent the views of Ndigbo.
They reminded the public that the IPOB remained a proscribed entity, having regard to an order of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which proscribed its activities, at the instance of a request by the Federal Government.
In a statement, Friday,  the group threw its weight behind the call by Ohanaeze Ndigbo for a review of the recent appointment of Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari.
While harping on the application of federal character principle in making sensitive appointments, the concerned Igbo  elders decried what they considered was growing exclusion of the South East in national affairs.
To cure this malaise, the group has called on Igbo sons and daughters of voting age, to take advantage of the ongoing registration exercise by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to register en masse.
In their estimation, integration into mainstream politics, through the instrumentality of the APC, will end the politics of exclusion and marginalisation against the South East geo-political zone.
The group warned Igbo politicians against divisive tendencies, insisting that the time had come for Igbo politicians to articulate a common front which, in the final analysis, will engender confidence and trust.
“As a geo-political entity, we believe that the Igbo have been sidelined for too long, and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, have helped to sustain this act of injustice through the deliberate and orchestrated violent disruption of peace and security,” the elders said in the statement.
As part of urgent measures to redress the balance, and bring the South East to recknoning, the patriots have called for robust engagements by relevant stakeholders on issues of concern, while denouncing IPOB, its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and all they represent.
The statement reads in part: “We use this opportunity to call on the military and other concerned authorities to bring the full weight of the law to bear on the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra, in a manner that will ensure the restoration of permanent peace and order to the South East region.
“As respected elders committed to national unity, peace and cohesion, we rise in condemnation of the violent activities of IPOB, which we hasten to note, are not a representation of the Igbo.
“Ndigbo are peace-loving and peace-building people, whose commitment to the national cause is irrevocable, regardless of the negative tendencies of a few deviants, who have constituted themselves into cogs in the wheel of progress.
“Now is, therefore, the time for all well-meaning Igbo sons and daughters, to condemn the wicked activities of IPOB, to drive home the point that they do not have our endorsement – tacit or open.”

Read Previous

Zonal congresses: Ignore Fayose Lagos PDP urges National Working Committee

Read Next

Ethan Bavuu talks about his journey from battlefield to boardroom

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *