The leadership of the Movement for a Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has urged its members to register en mass at the ongoing continuous permanent voter card registration.
A statement issued in Owerri, the Imo State capital on Friday by MASSOB National Secretary, Ibem Ugwuoke, said that the decision to order its members to register for PVCs was reached in a meeting presided over by its leader, Uchenna Madu.
The statement said that the PVC would be useful for MASSOB in the nearest future in its quest for a sovereign state, not just for election in 2019.
“MASSOB orders all Biafrans that are constitutionally eligible to vote to immediately go for voter registration card in the nearest INEC office. That possession of the Nigeria’s voter card is not merely for Nigeria’s elections only but for Biafra Referendum as the only identification card for eligibility of the people that will determine the future of Biafra actualisation through a United Nations observed referendum.
“Boycotting voters registration and non possession of the voters card is a self inflicted decision for any future referendum on the self determination for sovereignty of a state.
“That for a proposed statehood of Biafra to be ordered and declared by United Nations, the voting population of Biafrans through the registration and possession of the voter card must be captured in the national demography of the existing political entity (Nigeria) from which the voting population of the coming statehood (Biafra) is seeking for a separation.
“ That it is never an all comers affairs, even if United Nations comes in the existing mother country(Nigeria) to conduct and supervise a referendum that will determine the future of Biafra, she still has a critical role to play. The registration and possession of the voter card is for the Biafra referendum.
“MASSOB calls for review of the current voters registration exercise because the entire permanent voters registration exercise is fraudulently dubious schemed to favour only the northern region. INEC patterned the exercise to include even underaged children.
“We saw even as underaged persons of northern origin below 18 years registered by INEC for 2019 general elections. With these INEC sponsored trend of registering underaged persons from northern region, MASSOB will never allow elections to hold in eastern region in 2019.
“MASSOB still believes and anchors on our principle of non violence towards all our approaches to Biafra actualisation and restoration. We don’t believe in arms struggle, we shall abide by all the principles and charters of United Nation declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and African Charter on the Human Rights of Indigenous People,” the statement read.
