Obono-obla was reacting to the call for a referendum by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB). Speaking with the Sun Newspaper, the Presidency described such calls as a waste of time and also stated that even restructuring would not solve the myriad of problems confronting the nation.
“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 said.
When reminded that even though it is not in the country’s constitution, the issue of referendum has become an international legal instrument for self-determination groups to realise their dream, Obono-obla said
“The international law does not take precedence over the Nigerian constitution. .
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.”
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