A Northern Elders Coalition has demanded that security operatives arrest Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi.
This is despite their insistence that nothing should stand in the way of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s inauguration as Nigeria’s next President on May 29, 2023.
The coalition accused Peter Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, of making inciteful statements capable of disrupting Nigeria’s democratic system at the end of its meeting dubbed the ‘Convention of Arewa Elders’ held at the Arewa House in Kaduna State.
According to the Arewa Elders’ communique, which was read by the Chairman of Gamji Heritage, Alhaji Suleiman Usman Jere, shortly after the meeting, Obi engaged in a divisive ethnoreligious campaign during the 2023 elections and has continued to make threats and promote civil disobedience since losing the presidential election on February 25.
According to them:
Particularly worrisome, are the pronouncements of Mr. Peter Obi and Mr. Datti Ahmed, the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates of the Labour Party, as well as other Labour Party leaders including sources said to be linked to IPOB, ESN, which are known terrorist organisations.
It is on record that Mr. Peter Obi engaged a very divisive ethno-religious campaign during the 2023 elections and has continued to brazenly display anti-democratic tendencies opting for civil disobedience and threats in place of constitutional means through the Courts.
We are calling on all our security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities. It amounts to treason for anybody to call for truncating our democracy by whatever guises, be it Interim National Government let alone the call for a military coup. Perpetrators must be arrested and be brought to book with immediate effect!’
Tinubu Must Be Sworn In
The coalition added that the North massively voted for Tinubu and will protect its votes in the interest of the nation.
Elections have been held and the Winner has emerged. The people of the North massively voted for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in National interest.
We are mindful of our voting and will stand firmly to protect our democracy. We remain committed to the May 29th swearing-in date in line with Nigeria’s constitutional provisions, the group said.
Interim Government Is Strange
On his part, Major General Mohammed Sani Saleh (rtd) said if it were military officers doing what Obi is doing currently, they would have been arrested.
He, therefore, asked for the same law to be applied against the LP candidate though he is a civilian.
He added that calls for an Interim National Government are strange to the constitution and must be resisted by well-meaning Nigerians.
According to him:
If it were to be military officers that have tried what He (Peter Obi) has done, they would have been arrested, detained and charged for the coup and if found guilty, they would be sentenced to death. Why should the case of civilians trying to truncate our democracy be different?
The Nigerian Constitution must prevail, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must be sworn in on the 29th May 2023. We do not know anything called Interim National Government, it has no basis and nobody has the statutory right to appoint any Interim National Government for this country. We have a constitution and we must do things by our constitution.