Separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) says the discovery of crude oil in northern part of the country should mean that Biafra can be allowed to exist as a sovereign state.
The group in a statement on Friday, by Emma Powerful, its spokesman, added that the discovery was an answer to the prayers of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu who had prayed that the Northern region should discover petroleum in commercial quantity to facilitate the Biafra exit.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, flagged off the commercial production of crude oil and gas from the $3bn Kolmani Integrated Development Project.
The Kolmani project is located along the fields of Gombe and Bauchi, with Oil Prospecting Licence 809 and 810, lying in the Gongola Basin of the Upper Benue Trough, joining the two northern states.
While addressing the country at the event, Buhari said the Kolmani River field attracted $3bn worth of investments.
Reacting, IPOB said the Northern region has been reluctant to let Biafra happen because it benefits from the proceeds of the crude oil in the South-East, despite having solid minerals.
The statement partly read, “Northern Nigeria has large deposits of many solid minerals. But because they thirst for oil, they are ready to do unimaginable things because of oil in Biafra land.
“Today, God Almighty has settled the contraption’s age-long problem of unity occasioned by crude oil.
“Crude oil discovery in the North will for certain settle this forced unity if indeed they are truthful in settling Nigeria’s problem. Oil or no oil, Biafrans are not interested. All we need is a conducive environment to do our business without fear of terrorists at our borders.
“The discovery of over a billion barrels of crude oil in Gongola Basin is another important thing that has happened to the Northerners.”
It continued, “The prophecy of Nnamdi Kanu has come true because he prayed in one of his Radio Biafra broadcasts that God should give to the North oil so that Nigeria’s problem will be solved once and for all.
“Now that every component part of Nigeria has oil, can we all go our separate ways and mind our own businesses?”