Amid the prevailing crisis in the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, the group has released details of its Code of Conduct, stressing that it gave Nnamdi Kanu exclusive authority to appoint and dissolve the Directorate of State – the group’s apex administrative organ.

The crisis broke out after IPOB leader, Kanu, who is serving a life sentence at the Sokoto prison after being convicted of terrorism charges by the Nigerian government, dissolved the 3rd Administration of the DOS led by Chika Edoziem. Kanu replaced him with a 4th Administration of the DOS led by Chris Nwaogu.

Reacting to the development, Edoziem in a statement said that IPOB has suspended the Office of the Leader occupied by Kanu.

But IPOB, in a counter statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, dismissed Edoziem’s action, saying the alleged suspension was illegal, null and void.

The group on Saturday released details of its Code of Conduct to back its argument that Edoziem and members of the dissolved 3rd Administration of the DOS cannot legally suspend Kanu, saying Kanu, as leader of the group, has exclusive authority to appoint and dissolve the DOS.

While announcing the suspension of Kanu as leader of the group, Edoziem had said that no one person has the authority to dissolve the Directorate of State which is the apex leadership structure of IPOB.

Powerful, in a statement issued by him on Saturday, stressed that the details of the Code of Conduct was released to finally address the controversy trailing the dissolution of the Edoziem-led 3rd Administration.

“The Code of Conduct provides under Section II, Subsection A – Appointments and Dismissals “The power to appoint, suspend or dismiss erring Principal officers vest exclusively on the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu except and to the extent he clearly and expressly delegates that power to any other principal officer,” the statement said.

The statement says that once the “Supreme Leader” exercises his power of appointment, suspension, dismissal or dissolution, then every officer affected by his decision is under an immediate obligation to comply. It emphasized that there is no constitutional procedure within the IPOB Code of Conduct that empowers a dismissed officer to veto, suspend, delay, review or reject a decision validly taken by the Supreme Leader in accordance with his unique constitutional authority.

“Thus, the 3rd Administration’s term of office was ended as soon as its dissolution was announced. Any subsequent claim to the position after that was not based on the IPOB Constitution but was a personal act taken independently of the movement.

The issue before IPOB family members world over is not a matter of approval or disapproval of the dissolution. “The question is whether IPOB Constitution is supreme,” the statement read.

The statement further added that the appointments were temporary and performance based as per the provisions of the Code of Conduct. Principal officers are appointed for an initial period of six months and may be reappointed on the basis of satisfactory performance. These appointments are voluntary and there is no salary or financial entitlement.

The dissolved 3rd Administration seems to have functioned on the erroneous assumption that its tenure was permanent and that the authority that created it lacked the authority to dissolve it. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“It is also noteworthy that none of the members of the dissolved 3rd Administration is a founding member of IPOB. They had no right to the offices which they had just held. The statement continued: “They held those offices only by virtue of appointments made under the authority of the Supreme Leader.

The statement said the Code of Conduct is the highest governing instrument of the pro-Biafra group, “The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Worldwide wishes to address, once and for all, the unfortunate and unnecessary controversy generated by the lawful dissolution of the 3rd Administration of the Directorate of State (DOS) by the Supreme Leader of IPOB, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Let it be known to all members of the IPOB family world wide that the IPOB Code of Conduct is the supreme governing instrument of our movement. This is OUR Constitution. It dictates our structure, it governs our actions, it establishes our hierarchy and it binds each and every one of us.

“No officer, department, coordinator, representative, or administration is above the Code of Conduct. The Directorate of State did not form IPOB Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu created the Directorate of State as an administrative organ of IPOB to help in the day-to-day running of the movement and to ensure continuity of operations across the world.

“Thus, the DOS derives its existence, authority and legitimacy from the constitutional authority of the Supreme Leader and the IPOB Code of Conduct. It is not a sovereign body. It is not a coequal authority. It is not self-sufficient.

“An administrative structure set up by the Supreme Leader in line with the Constitution of IPOB cannot legally assert independence from the constitutional authority which gave it birth. To argue otherwise is to overthrow the basis upon which the Directorate of State was founded.

“The simple question every IPOB member must ask is this: if Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu had the authority to create the Directorate of State, by what logic does he lack the authority to dissolve, reorganize or reconstitute it?

The answer is simple,” The authority to create includes the authority to reform, restructure, replace, or dissolve. The same authority that appoints, has the power to remove. That is the law of the IPOB. “This is the Constitution of IPOB.”

The dissolution of the 3rd Administration is in accordance with the constitution and is binding on all IPOB structures across the globe and not subject to review, the statement said. It also stressed that the 4th Administration under Nwaogu has been duly constituted and is already up and running.

It said any person or group claiming to exercise authority under the dissolved 3rd Administration is doing so without constitutional authority and outside the framework of IPOB. Such conduct is a disciplinary offence under the Code of Conduct and will be met with appropriate sanctions, the statement warned.