The Eastern Consultative Assembly (ECA) has said that the recent military clampdown on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its proscription as a terrorist group were deliberate attempts to impede the numerous calls for the restructuring of the country.

In a statement released on Monday and signed by its secretary, Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, the group said the exercise under the guise of Operation Python Dance was a ploy to thwart the ongoing dialogue between IPOB and the Federal Government.

“The pronouncement that the IPOB is a terrorist organization and its proscription are designed and choreographed to justify the discreetly agreed agenda to crush the agitation by military might in order to sustain the 1999 military constitution and the current unjust status quo thereby postponing the restructuring of Nigeria for as long as they can.

“The deliberate attempt tp roll in military equipment into the South East and provoke crisis is also designed towards scuttling the peace process between the IPOB and government led by Prof. Ben Nwabueze.

“Some people are not comfortable with that because they believe it could lead to restructuring Nigeria which they resent intensely,” the statement read.

ECA further claimed that the recent clampdown on the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu did not come to them as a surprise as according to them, Kanu had driven Nigeria closer to restructuring more than anybody else.