Ipob spokesman Simon Ekpa says he will return medal he won representing Nigeria in 2003

INDIGENOUS People of Biafra (Ipob) spokesperson Simon Ekpa has announced that he is to return a medal he won for Nigeria during the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships because the country's leaders have failed the nation.

In July, following the arrest of Ipob leader Nnamdi Kanu, Mr Ekpa was named as the new head of Radio Biafra with a mandate to produce the daily broadcasts with call for the creation of an independent nation. Mr Ekpa, who holds a PhD degree in law, is a human rights activist and a legal researcher who hails from Ngbo in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, where he holds a chieftaincy title.

He is also said to be one of those in line to the throne as the son of the late King Nwangbo, the Ogaba Idu of Ngbo clan. Mr Ekpa has been living in Finland for more than a decade where he has acquired citizenship and got involved in local politics, recently being elected deputy councillor in his municipality.

Yesterday Mr Ekpa said on his Facebook page that his action is in with his allegiance to Ipob, vowing to put everything I have to the disintegration of Nigeria. He made the comments in reaction to a letter he received from the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) Nigeria, nominating him for a fellowship.

Mr Ekpa said: “I reject your nomination publicly, this is the second time the IMC Nigeria is nominating me for whatever reason. I am not interested in your nomination, I am not interested in your award, I am not interested in anything that will move Nigeria forward because Nigeria is not structured nor created to move forward, so anybody trying to move Nigeria forward is already a failure.

“Let me give you a brief breakdown on these failures. Awolowo, Zik, Ahmadu Bello, Abiola, Obasanjo, Jonathan, and every other person that has held any political position in Nigeria from 1960 to 2021 has all failed because they didn’t realise that Nigeria was never created to move forward.

“I am now putting everything I have to the disintegration of Nigeria and the restoration of Biafra as that is the only way to move forward, anything outside this, don’t bring my name. Finally, I will be returning every award given to me by the Nigeria state or any organisation within Nigeria, including a medal given to me by Nigeria, which will be returned to the Ministry of Sports Abuja in the nearest future. I am Simon Ekpa, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s disciple on Biafra Restoration.”