Ike Ekweremadu, the former Deputy Senate President, said on Sunday that the National Assembly’s South-East Caucus was working relentlessly to secure the release of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu.
According to a statement released on Monday by Ekweremadu’s media adviser, Uche Anichukwu, Ekweremadu said this at the Igbo Heritage Lectures and Ugwumba Excellence Award in Pretoria, South Africa, in a lecture titled “The Igbo in Diaspora: A Perspective.”
He went on to say that politicians are also striving to remove insecurity in the region.
He encouraged Igbos in the Diaspora to join the fight against the country’s violent agitations.
Insecurity, a twisted federal system, and the unnecessary use of force against agitators, according to the ex-deputy Senate President, are to blame for agitations across the country.
Last month, the Senate’s South-East caucus decided to form a committee to meet with the Federal Government on Kanu, who is on trial for suspected treason at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Ekweremadu said: “The injustices and marginalisation are palpable and must be addressed. But by all means, we must ensure the stability of Igbo land because only by so doing can Alaigbo (Igbo land) prosper economically and also elicit local and international support and sympathy over their plights.
“What has happened in Alaigbo in the past few months is odd, ‘un-Igbo’, and sacrilegious. Destruction, waste of human lives, and economic losses had been the lot of our region. In particular, the sit-at-home has haemorrhaged Igbo lives and economy and it is good the IPOB has said they are no longer interested in the sit-at-home. No wise man brings war into his home. Our people prosper in industry, commerce, and the informal sector. Most of them survive on daily income.
“Let me also assure you that the South-East Caucus of the National Assembly is not resting on its oars. We are working quietly and surely to address all issues, including finding a political solution to the Mazi Nnamdi Kanu matter.
“We did it before in the case of Chief Raph Uwazuruike in 2007. We also did it in the case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in 2017. And God willing, and with your support and prayers, we will succeed again in the matter of Nnamdi Kanu to promote peace and stability in our region.”
