Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide (OYC) has called for a dialogue between President Bola Tinubu, and Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
OYC made the call while expressing its outrage over the attack on Kanu by the leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, NDPVF Dokubo Asari.
Asari had while speaking to journalists after a meeting with Tinubu on Friday named the IPOB leader a criminal, calling on the President not to release him.
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The NDPVF leader’s statement drew the anger of Ndigbo, with many accusing him of reaching beyond his bounds.
The President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike in a statement in Abuja on Sunday accused Asari of being sponsored by those who want to destabilise the current government.
Okwu urged Tinubu to ignore Asari’s statement and invite Kanu for a round table discussion just as the Nigerian Government did for other agitators like Boko Haram.
The statement read:
“It was unthinkable that at a time many patriotic citizens of the country were thinking of ways to unite the country, the ex-militant who postures as a ‘son of the President’ was busy throwing up ideas that would further polarise the country.
“We have always known Dokubo-Asari as a rabble-rouser who is not interested in the progress and prosperity of this nation.
“This is a man who had been in the creeks for years sabotaging the country’s economy. We all know what it is to sabotage the economy of a country- what other crime could be more than this?
“But curiously, the same man who claims to have repented, even when his boys are still in the creeks, has the temerity to brand Nnamdi Kanu a criminal.
“When did Asari Dokubo become a court of competent jurisdiction to decide who is a criminal? He has only taken his hatred for Ndigbo too far.
“Mr President made it clear that he is ready to unite the fragmented country he inherited from the past administration and he has been so much applauded for this.
“We urge Mr President to go ahead and not allow his administration to be derailed by hypocrites like Asari Dokubo who want to feed fat from any form of crisis in the country. Mr President should be wary of him and his sponsors who are enemies of the government.
“The Federal Government should do well to invite and engage Nnamdi Kanu and other agitators. They are fighting for justice and marginalisation. If the government could engage members of Boko Haram who have killed and maimed millions of people, it should not find it hard to engage the agitators.
“Mr President is one of those who vehemently fought in favour of democracy and justice in the past; he should give a listening ear to Nnamdi Kanu.”
