Five southeast governors hold meeting with Nnamdi Kanu over Anambra election boycott call

GOVERNORS from the five states of the southeast geo-political zone are currently meeting with Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Nnamdi Kanu in Enugu in an attempt to find a solution to the ongoing restlessness across the region.

Over  recent months, southeast Nigeria has been engulfed in a campaign for the recreation of the defunct republic of Biafra that existed briefly between July 1967 and January 1970. Ipob has led the calls for secession and Mr Kanu has been addressing rallies across the region, attracting the support of hundreds of thousands of youths.

During the cause of his campaign, Mr Kanu has called on Anambrans to boycott the state's governorship elections due on November 18 unless the federal government agrees to hold a referendum on Biafra. This has not gone down well with senior Igbo leaders who are opposed to any interference with the electoral process.

In a bid to resolve the matter, all five governors from across the southeast have decided to meet with Mr Kanu at Government House in Enugu. This the first meeting Mr Kanu is holding with the governors and came after he had rebuffed repeated back door overtures to meet with him in the past.

Emmanuel Uzor, the chief press secretary to Ebonyi State governor David Umahi, said the call by Ipob for boycott of the November 18 Anambra governorship election was expected to top the agenda at the meeting. It is likely that the governors will ask Mr Kanu to withdraw his call for a boycott.