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Aburi Accord- The Meeting of Two Elephants

Aburi accord
The Aburi Accord (agreement) was reached in 1967 in Aburi, Ghana, by the Supreme Military Council (Federal Government delegates) and the Eastern Region delegates led by Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, leader of the Eastern Region. The meeting took place between 4th and 5th of January, 1967 and its purpose was to carve out a way to prevent a war in Nigeria.
Aburi, a town in the Akuapim South Municipal District of the Eastern Region of south Ghana, was specifically chosen as the venue of the meeting because the Eastern delegates and their leader, Colonel Ojukwu’s safety could not be guaranteed anywhere within the Western and Northern Regions of Nigeria.
Odumegwu Ojukwu
Issues discussed at the meeting were:
* Re-organisation of the Army;
* Constitutional agreement;
* and the issue of displaced people within the country.
Here is the List of delegates sent to the Aburi conference:
* Lt.-General J.A. Ankrah (Chairman of the Ghana National Liberation Council)
* Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon
* Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu
* Major Mobolaji Johnson (Governor of Lagos State)
* Lt. Col. Hassan Katsina (Governor of Northern Region)
* Lt. Col. David Ejoor (Governor of Mid-Western Region)
* Joseph Edet Akinwale Wey (Military Vice President of Nigeria)
* Colonel Robert Adebayo (Governor Western Region)
* Alhaji Kam Selem
* Mr. T. Omo-Bare
Others were:
* N. Akpan (Secretary to the Military Governor of Eastern Region)
* Alhaji Ali Akilu (Secretary to the Military Governor of Northern Region)
* D. Lawani (Secretary to Military Governor of Mid Western Region)
* P. Odumosu (Secretary to the Military Governor of Western Region)
* S. Akenzua
In response to the accord, the Federal Military Government promulgated Decree No. 8 which was an embodiment of the Aburi accord. The accord later broke down due to different interpretations from both sides and later led to the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970).
Biafra war

Cite this article as: Teslim Omipidan. (June 18, 2015). Aburi Accord- The Meeting of Two Elephants. OldNaija. Retrieved from https://oldnaija.com/2015/06/18/aburi-accord/

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