The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ralph Uwazuruike

  • Police disrupt MASSOB march, arrest members in Ebonyi

    The Police in Ebonyi state, assisted by other security agencies on Tuesday arrested scores of members of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB in Abakaliki the Ebonyi state capital who were on a peaceful march round major streets of the city.

    The group had earlier announced the event through the media and social media channels in the country. It said it is to commemorate the declaration of Biafran Republic by its leader, Ralph Uwazuruike.

    But, security agencies in the state accosted them along Nkaliki road as they started the peaceful march, sprayed teargas on them and arrested some of them, it was gathered.

    The Army, Department of State Security, DSS and the Police carried out the joint operation.

    Commander of Nigerian Millitary Cantonment in Nkwegu, Col S. O. Sadiq confirmed the participation of the Army in the incident and arrests. He added that all the arrested persons were handed over to the police.

    He explained that MASSOB did not notify security agencies in the state of the event in writing which necessitated the action to stop them by security agencies.

    Police Spokesman in the state, Loveth Odah confirmed the incident to our reporter but could not give the actual number of persons arrested.

    “I don’t have the details of the actual number of persons arrested right now, when I get the full details I will let you know” she said.

  • Uwazuruike is behind my son’s detention – Nnamdi Kanu’s father

    Uwazuruike is behind my son’s detention – Nnamdi Kanu’s father

    The father of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) HRM Eze Israel Kanu has alleged that Ralph Uwazuruike, leader of Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) is behind his son’s continuous detention in prison.

    Speaking with newsmen at his residence Afaraukwu Ibeku, Umuahia shortly after the traditional marriage of his last daughter Princess Chinwe Kanu, the monarch insisted that Uwazuruike was behind his son’s ordeal in Abuja detention.

    Eze Kanu the 84 year old king said that Uwazuruike masterminded his son’s current detention simply because (Nnamdi Kanu) raised the alarm over monies contributed for the wellbeing of helpless Biafra youths, hence the planned arrest on arrival to Nigeria.

    The monarch pleaded with the federal government to release his son as he never committed any crime in the country, adding that he just returned from Germany a few days ago on medical checkup, “The continued detention of my son has no doubt worsened my health condition in the past one year”.

    In a related development the members of the IPOB have accused the South East governors of sabotaging the release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu instead of joining hands to ensure his released on conditionally.

    Speaking at the same traditional wedding ceremony the zonal of Port Harcourt, Rivers State Emeka Mbamara said whether the governors in the South East supported them in this struggle or not their leader Nnamdi Kanu will surely come out with Biafra flag.

    Mbamara said that the governors in the zone have been sabotaging the agitation and have refused to get close to Nnamdi Kanu since his detention about one year and six months ago and vowed that the youths will continue to carry the struggle until his release.

    The Zonal Coordinator revealed that the struggle was not a child’s play while given assurance that youth will engage in all manner of peacefully revolution to get their leader out ones and for all.

    Mbamara explained that Kanu’s continued unlawful detention by federal government will not deterred their struggle and reminded governors of the zone that a day of reckoning was fast approaching.

    Also speaking on Kanu’s detention, an IPOB official and a. Germany-based of Imo State extraction Mr. Chibuzo Eric Nwokonna said whether Nigerian government like it or not Biafra was going as soon as necessary documents are completed.

    Nwokonna who was among hundreds of IPOB members that witnessed the traditional marriage of Kanu’s younger sister in Umuahia told newsmen that Biafra’s liberation is a real venture.

    He explained that many foreign countries including Germany where they have highest number of people for the actualization of Biafra have expressed readiness to support them on all ramifications including the Jews in Israel.

  • Uwazuruike to set up parallel govt

    Uwazuruike to set up parallel govt

      Facebook  Google+  LinkedIn

    • Election to hold February 22

    Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra leader, Ralph Uwazuruike has announced plans to set up a parallel government in the Southeast and Southsouth.

    Election will hold on February 22 into wards, provinces, districts, regions and zones of the Southeast and Southsouth, which it said are Biafra  territories.

    Speaking during the presentation of the 2016 Biafra Budget at the Ojukwu Memorial library, Uwazuruike announced the appointment of Rev. Fr Samuel Aniebonam, a Catholic Priest, as the Chairman of the Biafra Independent National Electoral Commission (B-INEC).

    His words: “In line with our principle of non-violence towards establishing a sovereign control over the territorial boarders of the New Biafra, a Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Samuel Aniebonam has been appointed the Chairman of Biafra Independent National Electoral Commission, (B-INEC).

    “The Chairman, with other anointed men and women of God as members, will supervise the internal election into the offices of the new Biafra Government on February 22.” The separatist leader said the election will be by open ballot, popularly known as Option A4.

    “Our election will not be like Nigeria’s election, it will be a transparent one. In Biafra, there won’t be electoral fraud. The tenure of the elected Regional Governor or Minister would be four years and nine months. There shall be no second tenure.

    “Once you are defeated, you won’t appeal in a tribunal against your opponent. This is why members of the commission would be men and women of God.”

    MASSOB’s National Director of Information, Sunny Okereafor, in a telephone interview, said the elections is in line with democratic ideals and international best practices, which Biafra was founded on, and where citizens would find satisfaction.

    He explained that only members of MASSOB and its parent body, the Biafra Independence Movement, (BIM), are qualified to vote and be voted for in the election.

    “The electioneering has began; we are conducting elections into all offices from wards to the zones, to elect leaders to administer Biafra. We are going to show Nigeria how to conduct free and fair elections without rigging, intimidation and favouritism.

    “Biafra will be a country where others would come to learn how democracy works. We have already set standards. Our non-violent approach is legendary and we have received several commendations for it. We want freedom; Biafra is the answer.”

    Okereafor said as soon as the elections were concluded and winners sworn in, Biafra would re-introduce its legal tender, the pounds.

     

  • MASSOB expels Uwazuruike, picks new leadership

    The Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) on Monday inaugurated a new leadership for the Movement, after the national officers including the zonal and regional administrators of the group formerly announced the expulsion of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike as MASSOB national leader.

    The new leadership was headed by the group’s former National Director of Information, Uchenna Madu, while Ugwuoke Ibem Ugwuoke, emerged as National Secretary.

    MASSOB at the well attended ceremony, warned Uwazuruike “to stop parading himself as MASSOB leader or using Ojukwu’s name to dupe Ndigbo or garner personal fame to pursue his political ambition.”

    Reading a resolution and communiqué signed by the national officers and administrators at Okwe, MASSOB’s Headquarters, the New National Secretary, stated that “the development is to redeem and revive the lost spirit and confidence of the Biafra revolution in our people and Biafra friends and sympathizers.”

    “A vote of no confidence and total rejection has been passed on Ralph Uwazuruike. His inability to sustain and maintain Ojukwu’s dream of Biafra actualization, his deviation into the mainstream of Nigerian politics and using the Biafra struggle to enhance his selfish political ambition in Nigeria are the reasons for our rejection of his association with Biafra struggle,” the communiqué added.

  • Our grouse with Uwazuruike, by aggrieved commanders

    Our grouse with Uwazuruike, by aggrieved commanders

    •‘We can’t be expelled from MASSOB’ 

    Aggrieved commanders of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have explained the cause of the face-off between them and their embattled leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.

    They said their grouse with Uwazuruike was not political, as was being insinuated in some quarters.

    The commanders said their expulsion from the group, which Uwazuruike announced at a recent meeting at the Ojukwu Memorial Library in Owerri, the Imo State capital, was null and void.

    In a statement by their “suspended” Director of Information, Comrade Uchenna Madu, the commanders urged Uwazuruike to compensate the families of members killed by security operatives when they were carrying out his orders and account for the group’s resources.

    They said this was the only premise on which a truce could be brokered.

    The statement said the group “wishes to clarify on the ongoing confusing statement made by Chris Mocha (Deputy Director of Information) that some officers of MASSOB are either suspended or expelled”.

    It added: “The true position is that nobody is either expelled or suspended from MASSOB because of the crisis, which seriously calls for total restructuring and equity and fairness.

    “All we are saying is that the abandonment of the remains of our dead members at Onitsha mortuary must be addressed: the wives, children and families of members who died in active services must be consoled. Uwazuruike must assist their wives financially and train their children in school. Such gestures will restore the confidence of the living, if eventually they died.

    “The big question of the fraud, mismanagement/ embezzlement of MASSOB money must be answered. The insensitivity and wickedness of Uwazuruike must also be addressed.”

    The statement stressed that “some MASSOB members are still brainwashed, living a hypocritical life, knowing fully that Uwazuruike is leading them astray but choose to remain silent”.

    The group also said: “Igbo political leaders are not MASSOB members but Uwazurike opened MASSOB’s door for them. This resulted in his political romance, meetings, alliance and money-sharing. The inclusion of politicians in MASSOB’s affairs started when Uwazurike ordered members to start campaigning, supporting and voting for his selective politicians.”

    It alleged that “whenever Uwazurike fell out with a politician, he starts telling us how bad and wicked the person is; that such a person wants to hijack MASSOB. He would incite us against the person. All that will make us to develop hatred for these Igbo leaders”.

     

     

     

     

    The group added: “These negative impressions were carried out against Chief Chekwas Okorie, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Senator Anyim Pius Ayim, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, former Governor Peter Obi (Anambra), Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, Governro Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Chief Victor Umeh, the late Prof Dora Akunyili, Senator Chris Ngige, Governor Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), among others.”

    But MASSOB Deputy Director of Information Maxi Chris Muocha said Madu and the others had been expelled.

     

     

    He said: “They are being sponsored by politicians and they are working against the movement. So, they cannot speak on behalf of MASSOB. If you are a MASSOB member, you must obey Uwazuruike. So, what we are saying is that those 13 members who refused to obey Uwazuruike remain expelled.

    “Uwazuruike remains our leader and he is the only one who can take us to the Promised Land…”

     

  • Don’t destroy MASSOB, politicians warned

    Don’t destroy MASSOB, politicians warned

    THE Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) under Chief Ralph Uwazuruike has cautioned politicians in the Southeast to drop their alleged plan to destroy the movement.

    In a statement yesterday by Uwazuruike’s Media Assistant, Mazi Chris Mocha, the group said any plan against the movement would not succeed.

    Also, members of the movement, including their regional directors, commissioners and supervisors in the transport industry, affirmed their solidarity with Uwazuruike.

    MASSOB said there was no division in the body, as being speculated in a statement by its National Director for Transport, Chief Charles Oputa.

    The director berated those accusing Uwazurike of mismanaging resources, adding that such people failed to understand that the movement had no other sources of getting funds except from the monthly dues from its members.

    He explained that MASSOB’s finances were prudently used and channelled to building structures.

    But Mocha said Igbo politicians should not destroy “the mouthpiece of the Ndigbo”.

    He said: “If Odua People’s Congress (OPC) in the Southwest; the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND); the Movement for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) in the Southsouth and Boko Haram in the North are not destroyed, why is it that some politicians in the Southeast would want to destroy and kill MASSOB?

     

    “This is the only formidable Igbo organisation championing the cause of Biafra in truth. It sometimes pays the sacrifice. Our people should be careful.

    The group commiserated with The Sun and other media organisations on the death of Pastor Dimgba Igwe, the Deputy Chairman of the newspaper, last Saturday

    In a statement yesterday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, by MASSOB’s National Director of Information, Comrade Uchenna Madu, the movement urged Federal and Abia State governments to immortalise the late journalist.

    It said Ndigbo had lost another Iroko, adding that the people of Igbo extraction would continue to honour and celebrate the late Igwe.

    MASSOB said: “Dimgba was a faithful and loyal person who served Chief Orji Uzor Kalu in many capacities.

    “MASSOB sends its condolences also to Mr Mike Awoyinfa, Dimgba’s journalism twin brother and the media world for losing such a gem.”

    Also, the senator representing Anambra Central, Chris Ngige, condoled with The Sun over Igwe’s death.

    In a condolence letter yesterday to Kalu and the newspapers Managing Director Femi Adesina, the senator described Igwe’s death as a shock.

    “His loss will be seriously felt within the Nigerian media sphere, particularly The Sun, which he nurtured from infancy to become one of the nation’s leading newspapers.

    “I, therefore, sympathise with Igwe’s family, The Sun, colleagues and friends. I urge them to show great strength at this period, dwelling on the fact that he was indeed a literary giant while here on earth.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Tension in MASSOB over change of administrators

    Tension in MASSOB over change of administrators

    There is tension in the leadership of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), following the replacement of the suspended regional administrators in Onitsha and its environs.

    MASSOB leader Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, who announced the replacement in Onitsha after the face-off between MASSOB and traders, said it was with immediate effect.

    Uwazuruike, through the Zonal Leader, Anambra North and Deputy Director for Information, Mazi Chris Mocha, said Mrs. Virgina Ubaezuonu replaces Emmanuel Omenka in Ogbaru Local Government; Chief Ifeanyi Ezeamadi takes over from Mr. Vincent Iloh in Onitsha North Local Government, Nze Christian Umeaka replaces Chief Stephen Ahaneku in Onitsha South Local Government; Mr. Damian Nzekwe takes the place of Chief Arinze Igbani Ayamelum, while Chief Dennis Nworah takes over from Osondu Okwaraeke in Anambra East.

    The MASSOB leader appealed to market leaders in Onitsha to see MASSOB as their own and work with the new administrators.

    He urged them to assist MASSOB in arresting any person using the group’s name to harass or extort money from the public.

    This, Uwazuruike said, was to ensure sanity in Onitsha and its environs.

     

  • I’ll take Biafra battle to national conference, says Uwazuruike

    I’ll take Biafra battle to national conference, says Uwazuruike

    Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) leader Chief Ralph Uwazuruike said at the weekend that he will take the quest for a Biafra Republic to the National Conference.

    This is contrary to the guidelines given by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, among which is that the unity of the country is a no-go area at the conference, due to begin later this month.

    Uwazuruike spoke at the palace of Igwe Obidiegwu Onyesoh, the traditional ruler of Nri Ancient Kingdom in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State during his 1015th Igu Aro Ndigbo 2014 AD Annual Cultural Festival.

    He said: “I’m in support of Biafra. Until Igbo land becomes a nation called Biafra, I will not sleep. That is what I will support. But that will be discussed at the conference.

    “Perhaps this conference may be the platform for us to discuss the emergence not only the Republic of Biafra but also Niger Delta, Oduduwa Republic and others and even Boko Haram. I’m against a no-go area. I don’t support that, everything must be discussed.

    “And I must tell you that the unity of Nigeria died on the last day the amalgamation ended. As at today, there is no entity legally called Nigeria. I believe that six Republics, representing the six geo-political zones will emerge from Nigeria after this national conference. I can attend the conference on the basis that I want a Republic of Biafra and nothing more,” Uwazurike said.

    He also advised the Igbo to give their maximum support to President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid so that he would in turn support the Igbo to realise their own presidential ambition.

    “We have decided after consultations that Ndigbo should continue to support President Jonathan just for our own interest because we believe that at the proper time, the Southsouth and Jonathan will assist Ndigbo to produce the next president.

    “We do not actually want an Igbo man to contest against him now or to confront him. We will continue to support him until he completes his second tenure.”

    Giving the reasons why the Igbo would be backing President Jonathan for a second term, Uwazurike said the President gave the late Igbo leader, Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, a befitting burial in addition to his expected support for the Igbo at the appropriate time, to produce the President.

    Besides, he said Jonathan had given the Southeast an International “functional” airport in Enugu.

    The Igbo, Uwazurike said would “reciprocate this gesture”, this time around when Jonathan needs them most. He would definitely reciprocate the gesture by giving them maximum support during the time of reckoning, he said.