The Presidency on Wednesday says the cooperation between Yoruba Nation secessionists and proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is worrisome.
This is coming as the two groups massed at the United Nations headquarters in New York ahead of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the UN General Assembly.
“For Nigerian diaspora groups to use the world’s largest platform – the United Nations General Assembly – to garner attention to their causes is not unexpected,” a statement by presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu has said.
He said it was however shocking, to see “Yoruba Nation” advocates on Tuesday unequivocally throw their lot in with IPOB.
“IPOB is a designated terrorist organization. It has now publicly revealed a 50,000 strong paramilitary organization,” he said.
“It regularly murders security services and innocent civilians, with a significant uptick of violent attacks this year. And it is currently attempting to hold Nigerian states hostage with orders to stay at home under threat of terror.
“Without doubt, Nigerians and the entire world will judge Yoruba Nation by the company it keeps,” the Presidency said.
He said “No one can take seriously this organisation if it continues its IPOB association. When their allies systematically trample human rights, it raises sober questions about their claims to uphold the values of the UN.
“The cooperation is a worrying development, once parsed with Yoruba Nation’s increasingly violent rallies in Nigeria.”
Th statement said: “Actions and associations speak louder than words. Yoruba Nation’s talk of human rights promotion must therefore be ignored.”
He, however, said the Nigerian government will continue its work at the UN- to fight against corruption and illicit financial flows, and international cooperation.
If we want to see stolen funds returned to their rightful home in Nigeria, the government must continue to campaign for and coordinate global action on asset recovery.
“The government will remain the leading regional actor in the fight against global terror – particularly against threats emanating from the Sahel. Through the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps programme, the country also shares technical expertise with countries from the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific.
“At the same time, the administration is implementing a programme of environmental sustainability to combat developments which destroys Nigerian communities in vulnerable regions.”
He said only through the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development the country can secure a prosperous future for Nigerians.
