Why Buhari was silent about IPOB in UN speech - APC governor reveals

- Ondo state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has stated that President Muhammadu Buhari chose not to mention the IPOB agitation during his UN speech, in order not to escalate the crisis on an international stage

- The governor stated that the agitation by the pro-Biafra group was something that could be contained within Nigeria’s territorial jurisdiction, and stressed that Buhari mentioned other important issues like corruption

- Akeredolu praised the president’s speech, stating that the highlight of the speech was when Buhari proffered a solution to the North-korean crisis

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state has disclosed why President Muhammadu Buhari did not mention the agitation by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), during his speech at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly.

According to Premium Times, the governor revealed that the president chose not to, in order not to escalate the crisis to the global body.

NAIJ.com gathers that the governor, who traveled with the president as part of his delegation, made his comments to state house correspondents in New York on Wednesday, September 20.

Akeredolu’s comments came on the heels of criticisms leveled at the president for highlighting the problems of other nations in his speech, while ignoring his own problems back home.

He stated: “IPOB's agitation is not something you escalate to the level of the United Nations for now. It’s something that you can contain.

“It is something that you can contain within what I will call our territorial jurisdiction.

“Why escalate it to the United Nations? That means, it’s like us wanting to bring what…I mean, they (United Nations) know of it.

“It’s not that they don’t know of it, but it’s not an issue for now and it will never be an issue in Nigeria for me as a person.

“The president also mentioned Boko Haram and the assistance we have received. He did say something about countries that have assisted us. He mentioned their names and thanked them.

“So, it’s not that our security issues were not addressed or other issues were not addressed like security, corruption that is more tied to our funds that are outside.

“So, all those things have something to do with the country. If you are retrieving monies from all these western world, it has something to do with the country.”

The governor further praised the president’s speech, stating: “I did listen to the address and it was a wonderful speech, not too long, not too short either. It was just enough to cover the subject matter.

“The highlight of Mr. President’s speech for me was his reference to the United Nations to set up a committee or a delegation to meet with the North Korean president and to find a solution to this threat of nuclear proliferation.

“That was a wonderful thing and I think that was the highlight of it.

“But Mr. President’s speech had quite a lot of pluses and when again the president said we should not forget old crises and now jump trying to find solutions to new ones and made a reference to what we have had over the years; resolutions on Israel and Palestinians, that if we leave all those ones and keep jumping to other ones, you will never get a solution.

“So, those are very important points, highlights in his speech.”

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari’s UN speech elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians.

While some praised the speech, others criticized the president for being hypocritical.

Watch this NAIJ.com TV video of Nnamdi Kanu's father speaking about his son's Biafra agitation