On Biafra we stand, Labour Party tells President Buhari not to ignore IPOB and Biafran agitators

The opposition Labour Party has urged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari not to play down the growing restiveness in the South East by refusing to negotiate with pro-Biafra agitators.
The party said Buhari must rise to the occasion by dialoguing with the leadership of both the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).
Through its National Chairman, Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, the party asked President Buhari to obey all court orders and grant the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu an unconditional release and warned that his continued detention by the Federal Government would further ignite the protests and violence by Igbo youths.
In an exclusive interview with The AUTHORITY, Abdulsalam said that since the Federal Government negotiated with the Niger Delta agitators in the past, they should accord MASSOB and IPOB the same treatment.
Abdulsalam added that the structure of the country must be revisited in order to carry every section along in the scheme of things and urged the Biafra agitators to maintain peace and seek dialogue with the Federal Government.
He said: “Why are they still keeping Kanu in detention? Buhari said that Kanu has dual passports; many Nigerians have dual passports and citizenship including those in his government. The fact of the matter which Buhari does not know is that the Igbo have every cause to fight for the actualisation of their rights.
“The Yoruba, through the defunct National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Afenifere and the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) fought and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo became president. The Niger Delta groups fought and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan became President. So the Igbo nation has the right to fight to actualise their own dreams of either to become the president of the country or otherwise. They cannot be caged, they cannot be stopped. All the economic policies of the APC and Buhari are meant to destroy the Igbo nation because they did not vote them. But they forget that the Igbo nation have the most enterprising people in Nigeria. There is no hamlet or city where you go, especially in the North without finding an Igbo who is doing his business.
“So, Buhari and the APC should understand this and carry the people along without trying to destabilise a particular and important section of this country. They must discuss with the people, forget that they are saying Kanu has no support; it is obvious that he has the full support of Igbo youths. They should endeavour to negotiate with them and stop the impending bloodbath. “This is a people that have earned their development with individual efforts, they do not believe in government to develop themselves for a long time, now that they Bevan to agitate and seek government recognition, I think that the government must listen to them and factor them in the scheme of things” Abdulsalam concluded.
IPOB storms Abuja today
Following the continued detention of Kanu, IPOB members will today storm Abuja to press for his release.
In a statement by IPOB National Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Emma Powerful, he said the members will storm the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to express their displeasure over Kanu’s continued detention and alleged maltreatment being meted to him by the Department of State Security (DSS).
He said the group was worried over media reports that the DSS officials had continued to maltreat Kanu and denied him access to his lawyer, doctor and even newspapers.