A group operating under the umbrella of Akwa Ibom leader coalition, has reached out to the United Nations Organisation, saying it wants Ibom Republic and plans to break away from Nigeria.
The Akwa Ibom group alleged that the Nigerian state had not treated its indigenes fairly and it therefore wanted its own republic.
A member of the coalition, Offiong Offiong, in a video made at the UN headquarters after submitting group’s documents, said the group would follow up on their request to ensure that the UN granted its request.
He said, “I am here today to present the communiqué that was issued after our meeting on June 5, 2021. Unfortunately, because of the back and forth of the lockdown and reopening of the UN secretariat, where the commission is based, we only ended up leaving our documents with the officers.
“But we are happy today that we were able to come. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 restrictions had not allowed us to present the documents to all the offices.
“We are asking for Ibom Republic. The Ibom Republic will be an attempt for us to demonstrate our emancipation as an indigenous group from the Nigerian state. We want a referendum and we want a decision made. We want our people to go on their own based on the way they have been treated by the Nigerian state.
“It is an exciting day for the Ibom Republic. Those documents have been submitted and we will continue to follow up.”
However, this recent development adds to the various agitations in different parts of Nigeria, with the notable one being led by the proscribed indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu and a similar one by some Yoruba groups in the South-west region, under the command of Professor Banji Akintoye and Sunday Igboho.
