ILANA Omo Oodua (IOO), a Yoruba secession group, has pulled out of Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination (NINAS).
The group’s position was announced in a statement by its leader Banji Akintoye on Tuesday.
Akintoye, who also doubles as the coalition chairman, accused some leaders of NINAS of having objectives that conflicted with the group’s original intent.
He noted that the Yoruba bloc needed to quit the alliance to preserve the integrity and reputation of the Yoruba Nation agitation for self-determination.
“It is our well-considered opinion that some of those we align with in NINAS do not want the kind of self-determination that we the Yoruba people want,” the statement said in part.
“Therefore, we the leadership of Ilana Omo Oodua, wish to inform the general public that the Yoruba Bloc under the leadership of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide has moved out of the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination with immediate effect in order to safeguard the integrity and honour of our agitation for Self-Determination.”
However, the statement added that a new coalition known as the South and Middle-Belt People’s Sovereign Movement would be officially inaugurated after ongoing consultations with like minds across the South and Middle Belt regions.
NINAS is an umbrella body for groups from the Southern and Middle Belt, asking for their rights to self-determination.
It has the Ilana Omo Oodua representing the Yoruba bloc; Lower Niger Congress representing the South-East and South-South, and the Middle-Belt Rennaissance Movement representing the Middle-Belt region
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