Skip to main content

Biafra agitation predates the Nigerian civil war ― Rev Uma Ukpai

 President of Uma Ukpai Evangelistic Association, Dr. Uma Ukpai has stated that the agitation for Biafra is beyond Igbo presidency, as the struggle started even before the Nigerian civil war in the 60s.

He urged those agitating for or against the creation of an Independent State of Biafra to go about it responsibly, stressing that no agitation should result in loss of life. The renowned clergy refuted media publications which tended to portray him as anti- Biafra or anti- Nigeria since he is both a Nigerian and a Biafran.

He said, “Rev. Ukpai is a Nigerian; he is also a Biafran. He is one man in three places. I said that the Biafran boys agitating are Nigerians. But when you think of harming your brother, then it is crazy. Every Biafran as of today is a Nigerian until they are handed the flag of their independence. Every man who calls himself a Biafran today is a Nigerian.

“We should agitate for whatever we want without killing anybody. I had said it that before and I’m saying it again that Nigerians love each other; it is only the leaders that are spoiling for war. So don’t destroy a life you cannot replace because of agitation.”

He condemned the recent attack on the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pst. Enoch Adeboye by the presidency over his comment on the need to restructure Nigeria, stressing that the Redeemed pastor is entitled to express his reservations.

“Adeboye like every other person should be allowed to say his mind. I don’t think he is not entitled to his opinion, he is a man of God and not a small boy, he must have seen the civil war and these things made him make the deductions,” he said.

Commenting on the Company and Allied Matters Act, CAMA, which empowers the federal or the State government to take over the leadership of a church that has a crisis, then Dr. Ukpai simply queried: “You mean for governments to take over the trustees of the church if there occurs a problem in the church, then who will take over governments when there is a crisis among them?”


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Buhari re-appoints Yakubu as INEC Chairman

  The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has re-appointed Prof Mahmood Yakubu as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday titled “President Buhari nominates Prof Yakubu as INEC chairman for second term in office.” The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has presented the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for a second term in office. “In a letter to President of the Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, the President said in accordance with the provision of Section 154 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), ‘I am pleased to present for confirmation by the Senate, the nomination of Professor Mahmood Yakubu for appointment as Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a second and final term.’ “Prof Yakubu was first appointed by P...
Benin Republic set to review Constitution on terms of Political Office. In a year when many countries on the continent and in West Africa are changing their constitutions to allow for incumbent presidents to run yet again, the Beninese National Assembly has approved a major constitutional reform to discuss the precision on the two terms of office of the President of the Republic among other issues. Detailing the political situation of Benin at the floor of the ECOWAS Parliament, the country report presented contained that the constitutions review was to address the current political situation of the country marking a new Republic following two unsuccessful attempts. The report stated that “Benin Republic has after the April 2019 Legislative elections experienced a tense atmosphere following the frustrating feelings from political group who were unable to participate in the legislative elections, due to the inability to meet the requirement on the law on the constit...

IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW SIM REGISTRATION RULES

Following the earlier directive on the suspension of new SIM registration by network operators, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) convened an urgent meeting of key stakeholders in the Communications industry on Monday, December 14, 2020.   The meeting had in attendance the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Management of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), as well as the CEOs and Management staff of all service providers in the industry.   At the meeting, the need to consolidate the achievements of last year’s  SIM registration audit and improve the performance and sanity of the sector was exhaustively discussed and all stakeholders agreed that urgent drastic measures have now become inevitable to improve the integrity and transparency of the SIM registration process.   To this end, t...