IPOB situation is an internal matter, not a UN matter - Femi Adesina
- Femi Adesina said the IPOB agitation is not a matter to be discussed at the United Nations General Assembly
- He said President Buhari has taken a lawful step to handle the crises
- He added that the president is busy working to deliver his 2015 campaign promises and would soon decided whether he will campaign in 2019 or not
The Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina has said the situation of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is an internal matter and not something to be brought up at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Adesina, in an interview with Times, confirmed the court's proscription of the IPOB while adding that President Buhari follows the nation's law in handling the IPOB crises.
He said: "The IPOB situation is an internal matter, which the government is dealing firmly with. It is not a UN matter. It is those who overrate themselves that think something like that must be brought up at a global platform like the UN.
"The President swore to uphold the Nigerian Constitution, and the Constitution recognizes an indivisible country. It is a President who holds his own promises with flippancy that will allow the country to scatter under him."
READ ALSO: Igbo people are even better off than the northerners - Lagos lawmaker Makinde
When he was asked to confirms reports that a federal high court has indeed proscribe the group, he said: "Unfolding events show that a court of competent jurisdiction has pronounced IPOB illegal. The President does only what is lawful."
On his reaction to Senate President Bukola Saraki's critics of the process that led to the proscription of the IPOB and the declaration of the group as a terrorist organisation by the army, Adesina said that is the private opinion of the senate president as the Senate is still on recess.
"The Senate President must have conveyed a private opinion, as the Upper House was still on recess when he said what he said," he said.
Adesina, speaking on whether he thinks the IPOB is truly a violent organisation, said: "From the speeches of the IPOB leader, particularly, you can judge if the utterances constitute a threat to national unity or not. The government should not watch, and see either a person or group throw the country into a tailspin, by careless words or actions."
While speaking on the president's health and rumour about his intention to contest for a second term in office in 2019, Adesina said only the president can confirm if he intends to contest in 2019.
He said: "Even younger people, who are not presidents, need to keep eyes on their health condition. As they say, health is wealth. No problem if a President does the same.
"It is only President Buhari who can say definitively whether he would run in 2019 or not. When he decides yes or no, the country would be told. For now, he is concentrating on fulfilling his campaign promises to the electorate.
"I have learnt from Mr President that it is possible to remain who you are, despite the allure of office. President Buhari remains simple, honest, straight as an arrow, a man of integrity, despite the enormous power and resources at his disposal. The lesson is that we must never allow power to turn us into another thing. To thyself remain true at all times."
PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com earlier reported that President Buhari has left the United States for London on a medical check up.
Buhari is to spend four days in London before returning to Nigeria as confirmed by his aide, Adesina.
From Adesina’s confirmation, President Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on Monday, September 25.
Watch the reactions of Nigerians before President Buhari returned to the country after about 105 days in London:
Source: Naij.com