The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called for a referendum to allow Nigerians and the country’s constituent peoples to determine the political arrangement under which they want to live.
IPOB spokesperson, Emma Powerful, made the call in a statement issued on Thursday, titled “IPOB: Stop the Endless Election Cycle — Let the People Choose Their Future.”
Powerful argued that the recurring electoral cycle has failed to address what IPOB describes as Nigeria’s foundational political questions.
According to him, the debate over the 2027 presidential election should go beyond choosing between political candidates, including Atiku Abubakar, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Peter Obi.
“The deeper question is: who gave the constituent peoples of Nigeria the chance to decide whether they still want this political arrangement at all?”
IPOB said its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and the organisation have consistently placed referendum and self-determination at the centre of their position.
The group said Nigerians should be given the opportunity to determine whether they want to remain together under a new constitution, adopt a federal or confederal structure, or pursue other constitutional arrangements.
IPOB Cites UK Self-Determination Debates
Powerful also compared Nigeria's handling of self-determination demands with recent developments in the United Kingdom.
He referenced the September 14, 2026 meeting in Cardiff involving leaders of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin, who signed a memorandum affirming the right of their respective nations to determine their constitutional futures through democratic means.
The memorandum called on the British government to prepare for and facilitate constitutional change in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
IPOB also referred to a symbolic referendum held in Piddington, Oxfordshire, where residents voted 285 to 26 in favour of leaving the United Kingdom. The vote, held in protest against plans to accommodate asylum seekers nearby, had no legal force.
Powerful questioned why, in IPOB's view, similar demands for a peaceful referendum in Nigeria should be treated differently.
“If referendum can settle constitutional questions in Britain, why should the peoples of Nigeria be permanently denied the same opportunity?” the statement asked.
‘Elections Are Not Self-Determination’
IPOB distinguished between elections and referendums, arguing that elections determine who governs while referendums can address the constitutional structure within which people are governed.
“Endless presidential elections cannot, by themselves, resolve Nigeria’s foundational political questions,” the group said.
IPOB References Obasanjo and Jonathan
The organisation also cited previous comments attributed to former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan concerning Nigeria's political and nation-building challenges.
IPOB referenced Obasanjo's reported remarks at the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi on August 11, 2026, where he questioned whether Western liberal democracy, as adopted in Africa, had adequately served the continent.
The group also cited Jonathan's 2023 comments concerning Nigeria's failure to fully integrate as a nation following the 1914 amalgamation.
IPOB said the comments demonstrated that concerns about Nigeria's political structure extend beyond its own organisation.
IPOB Demands Referendum
The group maintained that a referendum would not predetermine the outcome of Nigeria's constitutional future.
It said such a process would instead give citizens the opportunity to decide whether to remain together under a different political arrangement or pursue other constitutional options.
“For Biafrans, Biafrans must decide the future of Biafra,” Powerful said.
IPOB concluded by calling on Nigerians to focus on what it described as the people's right to determine the country's political future rather than allowing the 2027 election to substitute for a broader constitutional debate.
The statement was signed by Comrade Emma Powerful, Spokesperson/Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB.
