Ejimakor asks FG to put restructuring, independence on 2027 ballot

Aloy Ejimakor, special counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, has called for a referendum on Nigeria’s political future to be included in the 2027 general election ballot.
Ejimakor proposed that voters be allowed to choose whether Nigeria should remain united under a restructured confederation, become a federation of autonomous regions or permit geopolitical zones seeking independence to decide their future through a vote.
In a statement titled The 2027 ballot must ask the questions that actually matter, the lawyer argued that elections had focused largely on who should govern rather than how the country should be structured.
He said the unresolved debate over Nigeria’s political arrangement continued to fuel the country’s political crisis and should be addressed through a democratic process.
Ejimakor cited international examples of referendums on independence and autonomy, including votes in Quebec, Scotland, Greenland and Bougainville, as well as the processes that led to the independence of South Sudan and Montenegro.
He argued that such exercises allowed citizens to express their preferences directly without predetermining the outcome.
According to him, a referendum would provide a democratic channel for addressing longstanding demands for restructuring, regional autonomy and self-determination.
Ejimakor warned that excluding the questions from the 2027 ballot would not resolve the underlying disagreements, arguing that they should instead be debated and decided through the ballot box.
He said the proposed questions would give Nigerians the opportunity to decide the country’s future, rather than limiting their choices to candidates for political office.