The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has promised to negotiate with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) if elected president in 2023.
Atiku expressed willingness to negotiate with the proscribed Igbo group, stating that no geopolitical zone can achieve political power on it own.
The former vice president stated these while appearing on Channels TV’s presidential town hall series on Sunday night,
He said, “We are in a democratic society. There is no one geopolitical zone that can, on its own, achieve political power without crossing the Niger or being in alliance with other geopolitical zones.
He added, “I think this is what they should begin to think. OK, how do they partner other parts of the country to secure political power to protect their interests? I think these are the way to go as far as the agitation for IPOB is concerned.”
Atiku urged Biafran agitators to form an alliance with other regions to secure political power.
“The IPOB issue in the South-East, as far as I am concerned, is about the realisation of Biafra. Is it possible for Biafra to be realised today? How? By negotiations or by going through another civil war which we cannot afford to?” said the PDP presidential standard-bearer.
He explained that “we should be able to negotiate with the agitators from the South-East as far as the issue of Biafra is concerned.”
South-East Nigeria has been rocked by violent attacks attributed to IPOB agitating for a sovereign Biafra.
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