The acting National Chairman of the United Patriots, Chukwudi Ezeobika, has faulted the call by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to hold a referendum on Biafra on February 16 to coincide with the presidential election.
Ezeobika, who is also the party’s senatorial candidate for Anambra South, said the call was irresponsible, unpatriotic and misplaced in a statement on Saturday.
He said being aware of the deplorable state of affairs in Nigeria under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress government, it was disturbing for anyone to encourage the Igbo to boycott the general elections especially the Presidential and National Assembly elections in place of a referendum.
He said, “The consequence of this unfortunate call for a referendum by Nnamdi Kanu cannot be overemphasised hence my genuine call on all Igbo wherever they are in Nigeria to jettison this irresponsible call and turn out en masse to vote for a presidential candidate of their choice come February 16.
“It is very important to note that this call for a referendum during elections is neither in the overall interest of the Igbo nor advantageous in any way to the political life of the Igbo as their political strength will further be diminished if they heed such irresponsible call to boycott the general elections.’’
He added that the South-East being the region with the lowest registered voters in the country at the moment, the Igbo across the country must seize the opportunity to display higher wisdom and not be fooled by individuals who placed personal interests above the collective interest of the Igbo.
Ezeobika stated, “With the emergence of Mr Peter Obi as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate, there is indeed a need to look beyond the present and concentrate more on the things that unite us as a nation than the things that tear us apart.”