February 25, 2025
By Sola Richards
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has rejected the proposed creation of additional states in Nigeria, stating that the South-East is only interested in a referendum to determine its exit from the country.
In a statement on Monday, IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, said the group opposes the creation of new states because the existing ones are financially unstable and dysfunctional.
“Following the rumours that the Federal Government and the National Assembly proposed to create an additional 31 new states in Nigeria, we, the global family and movement of IPOB worldwide, wish to categorically state that Biafrans do not want the creation of new states,” the statement read in part.
According to Powerful, IPOB believes Nigeria’s unity is unworkable and should be dissolved rather than creating more states. He argued that increasing the number of states would only deepen confusion, disunity, and insecurity.
“Nigeria is a country founded on fraud, sustained in fraud, and incapable of sustaining human and capital development. Any society built on fraud cannot stand. That is why IPOB and other rational indigenous minds in Nigeria are calling for the dissolution of Nigeria,” he added.
The pro-Biafra group also traced Nigeria’s challenges to the division of regions and state creation, particularly during and after the Nigerian Civil War. They claimed that past military regimes deliberately divided ethnic groups to weaken regional unity.
“Even if President Bola Tinubu’s government creates an additional 100 states, the political equation between the North, West, and East (previous regions) will never be balanced. The previous ethnic bigotry of Northern military leaders has already created an unfavourable political equation that is inimical to the unity of Nigeria,” the statement noted.
IPOB emphasised that rather than further dividing the South-East, it wants the return of Igbo communities that were integrated into Kogi, Benue, and Edo states back into Alaigbo.
“The federal government can create more states to suit them in their Nigeria, while Ndigbo establishes an independent state of Biafra. What Ndigbo want is an exit from Nigeria in a peaceful and democratic way,” the group asserted.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, recently disclosed that none of the 31 requests for state creation met the constitutional requirements.
IPOB reiterated its call for a referendum, urging the Federal Government to set a date for Biafrans to determine whether they want to remain in Nigeria or form an independent state.
The Guardian