Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has disclosed that the government needs to engage Nnamdi Kanu and his group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
Ikpeazu explained that the face-off between the federal government, Kanu and IPOB can be resolved on a negotiation table.
He, however, warned that Nigeria was sitting on a keg of gunpowder if the group was not engaged.
Speaking with THE SUN, Ikpeazu said negotiation between the federal government and Kanu’s group would bring about peace and justice in the Southeast.
Ikpeazu pointed out that some of the agitations of IPOB are legitimate and should be listened to.
He said: “We must engage with IPOB. Yes, we must find a way to talk about the issues at stake. These people are not as bad as the ones in the North East or the North West, who go to schools and seize the whole population of teachers and students or invade the mosques and churches and kidnap all the worshippers and nobody can find them until ransom is paid.
“I believe that there is some ideological sense in what these people in the South East are saying. There is something to listen to even though it is criminal to take up arms against the state.
“There is a message they are trying to pass in the process. We need confidence building among ourselves rather than use words that we should not use even as leaders.
“Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder but the solution is not too difficult to find.”
