The de facto customary government of Biafra led by Asari Dokubo, former militant leader, has assured that the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State would hold.
The Dokubo-led customary government said the election would hold even if Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is not released.
Uche Okafor-Mefor, the Head of Information and Communication of the group, cautioned IPOB against denying people the right to perform their civic rights.
IPOB had declared a seven-day sit-at-home protest in the South-East starting from November 5, if Kanu is not released.
The sit-at-home is expected to start on the eve of the Anambra State governorship election.
However, the De facto Biafra Customary Government faulted the order which it described as ‘criminal’.
The statement reads: “That the De Facto Customary Government of Biafra extols the democratic ethos for which Biafrans are known and as such declares support for the people of Biafra to exercise their democratic rights to vote and be voted for in Biafraland in the current and future elections.
“That in line with this pronouncement, the De Facto Customary Government of Biafra affirms that elections in Anambra State and elsewhere in Biafraland must hold by the extant laws; that any boycott of the Anambra elections and others elsewhere remains fruitless, counterproductive and would be incapable of invalidating the electoral process because a winner must emerge eventually by the circumstances strongly urged to go out and vote for the preferred candidates of their choices.
“That the continued violent campaign for the boycott of elections and other ancillary unethical conducts which are inimical to the advancement of the Biafran cause are subsequently frowned at and as such must be discouraged forthwith.”
The group stressed that preventing people of the Southeast from performing their civic duties is counterproductive.
It maintained that people of the Southeast can gain political control through democratic process.
“That the proponents of this self-annihilating strategy must be reminded that in reality, the best way to be in control of political power is by engaging and by going through the democratic process itself,” the statement added.
