A powerful economic retreat convened by the present administration to offer solutions to the current economic challenges facing Nigeria will hold on Monday and Tuesday next week. The retreat, being put together by the National Economic Council, with the 36 state governors as members and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as chairman, will hold in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. According to a statement on Thursday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, President Muhammadu Buhari will deliver the keynote address during the retreat’s opening session on Monday. Akande said Osinbajo, being the chairman of NEC, which is an advisory body to the President, would preside over the retreat with governors from the 36 states of the federation attending. Others expected at the meeting, according to the statement, are the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele; and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, among other functionaries. The statement reads:- “The objective of the NEC retreat is to provide a forum for in-depth discussions by NEC members of the policy actions that the states and the Federal Government can consider in order to stimulate local production, cut costs and enhance public revenues among other measures to stimulate the economy. “Contrary to suggestions, the retreat is not an emergency national economic conference. “The idea was mooted at the last regular NEC meeting in January, where members requested an intensive session to review economic trends and evolve strategies to cope.” It would be recalled that Nobel laureate, Proffessor Wole Soyinka, had called on the President to summon an emergency economic meeting to chart a course to save the country from further drift.

Former Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to free the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

According to a report on The Trent, leader of Niger Delta Volunteer Peoples Force, Melford Dokubo Goodhead Jr., popular known as Alhaji Mujahid Asari Do­kubo, has called on the Fed­eral Government to release the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who was arrested and has been detained by the Department of State Security Services (DSS) since October 2015.

The former militant war lord, says Kanu has done nothing wrong and should be released and allowed to continue working towards the restoration of Biafra.

“Kanu did not commit any crime by calling for self-determination and he should be freed. It is never a crime to call for self-determination, thus, he should be freed. Biafrans have to put away their differences and make sure he comes out.

“When I was in detention, Igbo came together to bring me out. Nnamdi has done tremendously well and has shown resoluteness in the Biafra struggle. Our goal is our independence and the good of our people.

“IPOB should extend their campaign to every re­gion in Biafraland and not just Igboland. The Biafra gospel should be preached everywhere and people should be told why they should fearlessly join in this movement.”

He lauded IPOB and Kanu for coming this far in their struggle.

“It is our collective responsibilities that will make Biafra restoration a success. The Biafra struggle is for everyone and no one can do it all alone, thus, ev­eryone should do away with differences and come together to make sure Kanu is freed and Biafra is restored.

“Leadership should not be our interest now; everyone should focus on our goal, which is the restoration of the sovereign state of Bi­afra. Any Biafran who wants to deny the fact that Kanu catalysed this quest for Bi­afra independence is lying to himself; it is an obvious truth.

“This is not time to nurse grudges against one another so that our enemies will not take advantage of it and then use it against us. I urge every Biafran to be strong and also call for the release of our brother, Kanu,” he stated.

It can be recalled that Asari Dokubo has earlier expressed his support for the movement, saying that his group shares the same vision with the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).