Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has clarified that his recent meeting with South East governors in Enugu did not involve discussions about releasing the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Obasanjo, accompanied by former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Chief Emeka Anyaoku, met with the governors to discuss regional development issues. However, he emphasized that the potential release of Kanu by the Federal Government was not on the agenda.

In a statement released on Wednesday by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo said, “The regional development issues discussed include security and infrastructure. Other topics were economic cooperation and collaboration to complement the national economic development agenda. The meeting was at my invitation and that of Chief Emeka Anyaoku. The issue of Nnamdi Kanu was not on the agenda and was not discussed in my presence.”

The South East Governors Forum, however, had independently resolved to seek President Bola Tinubu’s intervention for Kanu’s release. The decision was made during their meeting in Enugu on Tuesday, attended by all five South East governors: Peter Mbah (Enugu), Alex Otti (Abia), Prof Charles Soludo (Anambra), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), and Senator Hope Uzodimma (Imo).

The governors issued a five-point communique, committing to actionable plans based on the report of the South-East Security and Economic Summit held in Owerri in September last year. Part of their resolution was to engage with the Federal Government regarding Kanu’s release.

Additionally, the forum expressed condolences over the passing of Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, a former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and the first civilian governor of Abia State.