The House of Representatives at its plenary on Thursday, 8th June 2017 condemned the ultimatum issued by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (ACYF) for Igbos to leave the Northern region of the country. They further, called on Security agencies to be on alert to prevent mischievous persons from taking advantage of the call.
Moving the motion under matters of urgent public importance, Hon. Oghene Emma Egoh (PDP:Lagos) stressed the need for the Federal Government to urgently intervene in order to avert a national crisis that may arise as a result of the threat. He also drew attention to some of the latest campaigns by the secessionist Biafra agitators who under the auspices of the Indigenous People of Biafra Republic (IPOB) shut down all economic activities in the South East on 30th May 2017. He added that he was disturbed over the manner the ACYF had responded to the IPOB’s shut down in asking all Igbos to vacate from the 19 Northern States by October 1, 2017 or face violence. He was also of the view that the subsequent reaction by another secessionist Biafra group known as the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) who welcomed the “quit notice” and urged Igbos to return home immediately was alarming.
Lastly, he clarified that the motion was not interested in the merit or demerit of Biafra, nor in apportioning blame on those who made the unpatriotic calls, but sought the timeous intervention of the nation’s leaders to put an end to an agitation capable of resulting in mass violence that could consume the nation.
It is noteworthy that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Governors of the 19 Northern States have condemned the statement of the ACYF as provocative and constituting a threat to national security and peaceful co- existence.
