A controversial Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, has hired a US lobbying firm, Moran Global Strategies (MGS), to promote the cause of an independent state of Biafra.
Ekpa, who leads a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), signed a contract with MGS in June 2024 to provide strategic advice and facilitate interactions with US government officials and other stakeholders.
The lobbying firm, owned by former US lawmaker James Moran, will work to convince the US government to support Biafra’s secession from Nigeria.
The contract agreement outlines MGS’s role in promoting Biafra’s narrative to US governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.
“Under terms of this letter agreement, MGS agrees to provide Biafra with strategic advice and facilitate interaction with appropriate members of the Executive and Legislative Branches of the US government, as well as third-party interests.
“MGS will support Biafra’s fundamental goal to encourage the United States government to support Biafran independence and to recognise Biafra as the only entity which represents Biafra,” part of the agreement reads.
“MGS will promote the narrative to US governmental and non-governmental stakeholders that Biafra, once an established, independent state, with the Biafra’s stewardship, will be a close ally of the United States, as well as a bulwark against Islamic terrorism in the region,” the statement said.
MGS will also advise the US government and private sectors on the challenges faced by the people of Biafra, including human rights abuses, religious freedom issues, and security concerns.
The firm will educate stakeholders on issues related to the Nigerian government, including its alignment with US adversaries and human rights abuses.
The contract agreement indicates that MGS will work to secure an audience and interaction with various US government organs and committees, including the House and Senate Leadership, House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees, and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Ekpa’s faction of IPOB, Autopilot, will pay MGS a monthly fee of $10,000 for services provided, with the contract renewable annually.