The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, on Friday said the Federal Government is willing to negotiate the release of embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Umahi, who made this statement to journalists in Abuja, said Kanu’s release would not be tied to political conditions.
The Minister noted that President Bola Tinubu is not seeking to use the release of Kanu as a prerequisite for the southeast to back his re-election in 2027.
In his words, “Somebody asked me about Nnamdi Kanu, and I said his matter is not a condition for the South East to support the President.
“We are willing to negotiate his release, but no one should make it a condition because the President did not put him there.”
Umahi described Tinubu as a “listening leader” and expressed belief that Kanu’s release would eventually come through “divine grace and dialogue,” not pressure or political demands.
He added that the Southeast region is fully behind the re-election of the president in 2027.
Kanu has been in detention since 2021 after operatives of the Department of the State Service (DSS) arrested and estradicted back to Nigeria from Kenya.
