From Okey Sampson, Aba
The Chief Ralph Uwazuruike-led faction of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has distanced itself from the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), saying the movement does not support violence.
The MASSOB faction, led by Uchenna Madu, had, earlier in the week, given kudos to NDA for its activities especially by giving seven governors in the South East and South South zones one week ultimatum to release pro-Biafra agitators detained in their states or face their wrath.
Speaking after a meeting in Aba, Abia State MASSOB National Director of Information, Sunny Okereafor said his group was distancing itself from NDA because it does not believe in violence as a means of agitation.
“Right from the day of the formation of MASSOB, our leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike was emphatic on our modus operandi, that, we will not use violence in the struggle and we’ve maintained that.
“It will, therefore, be out of place for any genuine MASSOB member to say he is supporting what the NDA is doing in the Niger Delta region -destroying oil facilities which were built with the peoples’ money.”
Okereafor said no true MASSOB member would want to align with NDA, a group he said had destruction as its mission and which had agreed to dialogue with the Federal Government, a move he said was at variance with his MASSOB’s stance.
“By accepting to dialogue with the federal government, it means NDA leaders have agreed to dialogue away the future of their children and MASSOB should have nothing to do with such a group because we believe in the sanctity of Biafra which will be achieved through peaceful means.
“We could have welcomed them if they had renounced violence, do away with their plans to dialogue with anybody and demanded a country of their own.”
Okereafor said those who claimed to be MASSOB members and are supporting NDA’s violent actions were no longer members of the movement as they had long been expelled from the group because of their violent posture.
While appealing to members of the public to discountenance whatever anybody might say and claim it emanated from MASSOB, Okereafor said the group’s authentic leader remains Solomon Chukwu, who he said was carefully chosen by members last year.