…We will resist plan to oust Buhari over ill-health
…NEF restates support for Osinbajo, names Paul Unongo as
leader
A group of northern youths, yesterday, claimed that a plan
to oust President Muhammed Buhari on account of his ill-health had been
launched.The group fingered the South-West as being behind the alleged
plan.
The claim came amid the ripples generated by the notice
issued to the Igbo people by a coalition of northern youths to leave the North
by October 1. The group of northern
youths, under the aegis of Arewa Youth Forum, spoke on a day the Northern
Elders Forum (NEF) asked those taking advantage of Buhari’s ill-health to make
political case for themselves, to stop their activities forthwith.
NEF spokesperson, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, also announced the
emergence of Paul Unongo, Second Republic politician, as the group’s leader
following the demise of the convener, Alhaji Maitama Sule. Arewa Youths The
Arewa Youth Forum, in a statement obtained by
Sunday Vanguard, yesterday, also
warned that the North will not accept anything other than the region retaining
the presidency in 2019, with or without Buhari. In the statement released by
their National President, Alhaji Gambo Ibrahim Gunjungu, in Abuja, the youths
said they were aware of the “political games” some political leaders in the
South-West were playing over the health of the President to edge him out and
take over.
The Arewa youths accused the South-West politicians of using
Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and a PDP chieftain to champion their
cause, insisting that the North would resist any attempt to take over power
from them now or in 2019. They particularly challenged Fayose to produce the
eleven pictures which he claimed to show the President on life support or
refrain from any commentary on the health of Buhari. Their words, “These
South-West people think that we do not understand the politics they are playing
but we want to assure them that we perfectly understand their game and will
shock them when the time comes.
“It is annoying and disappointing that while we in the North
are making efforts to stabilize the country against the backdrop of the recent
call for the expulsion of those from the North, some people want to show us
that they understand the game of politics more than us. But they are in for a
surprise. “Let us reveal that after our recent meeting in Kaduna, a delegation
was sent to London. We sent that delegation because we wanted to to know the
truth of the situation. “We met with the President and he told us some things.
All we can say now is that our President will soon be back
and people would witness drastic changes in the country. Many people will be
surprised when he comes. “Also we want it on record that youths from the North
will not accept a repeat of what happened during the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua
presidency. In 2919, the North must complete its eight years. This region can
no longer continue to be taken for a ride.”
The youths lambasted northern governors for keeping quiet
and even jostling for the Vice President’s slot, insisting that was time to
stand up and defend the region and Buhari. Unongo NEF, in its statement,
yesterday, warned individuals, groups or sections of the country it accused of
jostling to replace ailing Buhari, warning such persons and groups to stop that
now. The group said it will not abandon
its mandate to protect the interests of the people of the North. It explained that it was undergoing
extensive reforms with the goal of improving its effectiveness and impact in
the defence of northern interest.
The group restated its support for Acting President Yemi
Osinbajo, saying those involved in power struggle should respect the
Constitution. Meanwhile, the Convener of the Niger Delta Self -Determination
Movement, Anni-kio Briggs, has urged the Federal Government to not only listen
to the agitation from different groups in the country, but also do something
about it. Briggs made the call, yesterday, in Abuja as one of the panelists at
the 2017 Feast of Barracuda hosted by the Association of Seadogs Confraternity.
On the issue of true federalism, the Chairman of the event
and former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, called on the authorities
to entrench the principles of federalism, adding that it was injustice and
sheer corruption for a region to produce oil, while another region controls it
without considering where it is coming from.
No comments:
Post a Comment