The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said that it has no plan to disrupt the 2023 general elections in the southeastern part of the country.
IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful made this known in a statement to journalists on Saturday, October 8, 2022, in reaction to violent comments made by a breakaway member of IPOB, Simon Ekpa.
The Finland-based resident had threatened that the IPOB faction under his leadership would not allow any election to hold in the region.
But in a press release on behalf of IPOB, Powerful said: “The IPOB leadership has for the umpteenth time stated unequivocally that part of our modus operandi in our agitation for freedom has never been, is not and will not be violent agitation.
“This explains our consistent demand for the UN to organise a Referendum in the Biafran territory for the Biafran people to determine their destiny. To this effect, IPOB is neither contemplating nor will it encourage or sponsor anyone or group to disrupt Nigeria’s shambolic selection process called the election.
“IPOB has constantly made it public that we have no interest in and cannot legitimise the aberration they call the election in Nigeria. We are a focused, determined, and disciplined freedom-fighting movement, not political thugs, and IPOB is devoted to the cause of liberating our people from subjugation and from modern-day slavery and Neo-colonialism and will not allow ourselves to be distracted from this very objective.”
The group continued that: “IPOB is not interested and will never involve ourselves in any Nigeria fraudulent pre-election or post-election issues. Our job is to open the eyes of the blinds by the gospel of truth which our leader has delivered already.
“Whoever that is sponsoring any group or gang tagging them IPOB is on his/her own. For those who are hard of hearing, IPOB is one indivisible family under one central command and leadership.
“If in the future IPOB leadership decides to make further statement on the upcoming Nigeria selection process called election, we shall make such statement through our official channels.”
