Spokesman of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Comrade Emma Powerful, has insisted that the February 2, 2026 sit-at-home in the South-East, ordered by the group to show solidarity with traders in Onitsha Main Market, will hold.
Powerful spoke in a statement released to newsmen on Sunday.
DAILY POST reports that Onitsha Main Market was closed for a week by Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, following the traders’ non-compliance with his ban on the observance of the Monday sit-at-home in the state.
The market is to be reopened on Monday, February 2 and the governor has warned that if the traders still refuse to open their shops, the market will be closed for a month.
IPOB, which opposed the closure of the market by Soludo, announced a sit-at-home slated for February 2, across the South-East, to show solidarity with the Onitsha Main Market traders.
But a lawyer of the organization, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, and some members of the IPOB Directorate of State kicked against the sit-at-home announced by Powerful, saying the group had long jettisoned sit-at-home directives in the South-East. They also questioned Powerful’s credibility, alleging that the office of spokesperson has been compromised. They equally claimed the spokesperson does not exist as a person.
In a clarification issued on Sunday, Powerful, who earlier said Ejiofor has been expelled and as a non-member cannot speak for IPOB, insisted that the February 2 sit-at-home is sacrosanct.
In the statement titled ‘Clarification statement on the lies & falsehoods’, Powerful alleged that some agents of the government and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, are masquerading as IPOB members in a bid to deceive the public.
Insisting that Ejiofor had been sacked, Powerful alleged that two members of the IPOB Directorate of State, Chinasa Nworu and Chike Edoziem, are plotting to hijack the group and divert attention from the detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
He further alleged that they are doing the bidding of Anambra State governor, Soludo, after holding a meeting with him.
The statement read, “Monday, 2 February, sit-at-home is sacrosanct and will hold. Any government or APC agent masquerading as IPOB will be exposed in due course. It is public knowledge that Ifeanyi Ejiofor has been sacked by Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and neither represents him nor the IPOB he leads.
“Ifeanyi Ejiofor was sacked over 2 years ago and has no business with Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Chinasa Nworu and Chika Edoziem contacted me last week and asked me to stop issuing statements publicizing our leader’s unlawful detention and I refused. That was when they started plotting to hijack the leadership of IPOB and divert attention away from our leader.
“Those individuals appointed into the Directorate of State (DOS) by our leader, have compromised the integrity of this struggle by holding meetings with Governor Soludo aimed at undermining the solidarity shown to Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the traders of Onitsha Main Market should be ashamed of themselves.”
Powerful in the same vein dismissed claims that he is just a pseudonym and does not exist.
“The public is hereby advised to disregard every fake and fabricated resignation being circulated in my name. I spoke with a member of DOS two days ago in the person of Chinasa Nworu, who wants me to abandon our leader in detention. If I “do not exist,” the public should ask him who he spoke to.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Ifeanyi Ejiofor wrote to me yesterday, requesting that I call off the sit-at-home. If I do not exist, who exactly did he write to? He no longer represents our leader and has no authority within IPOB.
“Anti-Biafra forces opposed to the release of our leader have infiltrated and hijacked the online space, using the names of IPOB and DOS to confuse the public. These political jobbers do not work for Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and do not speak for IPOB. They will be unmasked.
“I will be appearing on talk shows and granting radio and media interviews from today through tomorrow morning. Attempts to use my temporary non-appearance to claim I “do not exist” are laughable. The same individuals I spoke with days ago are now spreading falsehoods online.
“While agents of the Nigerian government may have seized control of elements within DOS, the wider IPOB family remains uncontaminated. Biafrans are advised to beware of charlatans, ignore misinformation, and comply with the sit-at-home order on Monday.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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