The National Chairman of United Progressives Party (UPP), Chekwas
Okorie, has said that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB) remains his political son but his quest for separate state of
Biafra will not do the Igbo man any good.
According to him, Kanu has not been exposed to the place and spread of
Igbos in Nigeria which would have convinced him that secession was not
the best option for the Igbo nation.
Okorie also debunked allegations that there is a relationship between UPP and IPOB.
In a chat with journalists in Enugu, Okorie said: “First and foremost,
UPP is a political party registered with INEC in line with the Nigerian
laws to acquire power to improve the welfare of the Nigerian people. And
in that registration, UPP like other political parties has a
constitution derived from the constitution of Nigeria.
“It, also, has a manifesto, but, it is the manifesto that stands it out
from all the other political parties. So, haven said this; there is no
special relationship between UPP and Biafran agitating groups, because
we are aware that the Nigerian law does not permit a political party to
have a direct relationship with any group whatsoever.
“And for Nnamdi Kanu as a person, he is more like my political son and
he does not dispute that. I gave him political limelight and I exposed
him politically and appointed him the chairman of APGA in 2002, and, he
remained loyal to my own chapter of APGA even during the crisis and up
to 2011.
“And the only point of departure is the new orientation he has canvassed
and continued to canvass which is, ‘we want to exit from Nigeria’, that
is where we defer.
“I do not think secession will do the Igbo man any good. He is a young
man; he has not been exposed to the Igbo location in Nigeria. I have had
the privilege of traveling round this country for a minimum of 15
times.
‘I have had the privilege of meeting the Igbo settlements in Gusau, in
Northern part of Nigeria in the year 2000 where they have lived for over
400 years. And that was the year I was invited as a special guest of
honour to the Igbo Day celebration in Gusau. The late Odumegwu Ojukwu
was also invited; Dr. Alex Ekwueme was also invited.
“But remember that the year 2000 was the height of Sharia, so it was
risky for most people to travel to the north, because of fear. But I
said to myself that there are people leaving there and they are human
beings. I was the only one from the South East that honoured that
invitation and I never regretted it till tomorrow. This is because it
really opened my eyes.
“I also found out that it was the same year that the caliphate had their
bi-centenary celebration in Nigeria. That means 200 years of entering
Sokoto to establish the caliphate by their leader, Usman Dan Fodio. He
came all the way from Senegal through Niger Republic, then to Sokoto.”
Wednesday 26 July 2017
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The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu is my political son but agitation will not do Igbos good
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu is my political son but agitation will not do Igbos good
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