The leadership of the youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and that of Arewa Youth Coalition yesterday met in Abuja over the recent quit notice handed the Igbos living in various parts of the north to leave the region before October 1 this year.

It was gathered that as a fallout of the meeting, the two bodies have set up a dialogue committee with a view to bringing the matter to an end.

Confirming the meeting to LEADERSHIP Sunday yesterday night, spokesperson of the Northern Youth Coalition, Abdulaziz Suleiman, said: “We met today with the national leadership of the Ohanaeze Worldwide in Abuja and we had fruitful discussions.

“They assured that the Biafra agitation is in most cases only symbolic to protest over perceived marginalisation and we all agreed that a dialogue channel has been opened. We all reaffirmed our commitment to one united peaceful Nigeria.

“A joint committee was set up for fast action to bring this matter to an end. In the coming days, we hope to meet with the leaderships of MASSOB and IPOB.”

After a joint meeting tagged ‘Kaduna declaration’, the Northern Youth groups had given the Igbos till October 1 to leave North, an ultimatum which they said took immediate effect.

The youth groups said it was their reaction to the shutting down of major towns in the Southeast on May 30, 2017 by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) in pursuit of their agitation for the Republic of Biafra.

Represented by their leaders at the meeting were Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, Arewa Students Forum and Northern Emancipation Network among others, who vowed not to seat idle but rather to take their destiny in their hands. (LEADERSHIP Sunday)

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