The Nigerian government has revealed that it is constitutionally imposible for it to grant the demand for a referendum on a separate state of Biafra.
The Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Prosecution, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla while speaking on the continued demand for a referedum on a separate state of Biafra noted that the Nigerian constitution does not make provision for such.
Speaking in an interview with Sun Newspaper, Obono-obla in reaction to the calls made by the pro-Biafra group, the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, said such movement is a waste of time.
He added that the the calls for restructuring would also not solve the myriad of problems confronting the nation.
Obono-obla said: “The demand for a referendum with regards to Biafra is a constitutional impossibility. It is a legal and political impossibility. There is no provision in the constitution of the country or any other law that provides for a part of the country to break away.
“It is a nonsensical demand. Biafra ended on the January 15, 1970. I think the agitators are just expressing their rights to freedom of expression.”
He further stated when reminded that although Nigeria’s constitution does not make provision for the referendum, the international legal system may be adopted for the groups to realise their dream, “the international law does not take precedence over the Nigerian constitution.”
He maintained that “if you want to ratify any treaty or international convention, the National Assembly has to approve it. You cannot begin to use the international law to deal with municipal, local and national issues.
“Let them stop wasting their time. There is nothing like that. The agitators are just wasting their time and that is why I am saying that they are just expressing their right to the freedom of expression.”