National Director of Publicity and Advocacy of the NEF, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed
‘Statement not from us,’ as Northern Elders Forum disowns coalition seeking Obi, Datti’s arrest
Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has disassociated itself from a reported statement issued by a coalition of elders from the region demanding the arrest of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi by security operatives.
The coalition also insisted on the planned inauguration of President-elect, Bola Tinubu, on May 29, this year.
It would be recalled that rising from its meeting tagged; ‘Convention of Arewa Elders,’ held at the Arewa House in Kaduna State, the group accused Peter Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed of making inciteful statements capable of disrupting Nigeria’s democratic system.
The Arewa Elders in their communiqué which was read by the Chairman of Gamji Heritage, Alhaji Suleiman Usman Jere shortly after the meeting, the Labour Party candidate, Obi ‘has engaged in a very divisive ethno-religious campaign during the 2023 elections and has continued to make threats and promote civil disobedience after losing in the February 25 presidential election.’
“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!’’ the communiqué read.
Continuing, the group said: “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.”
Remarking at the meeting, a member of the group, Major General Mohammed Sani Saleh (rtd) said that calls for an Interim National Government are strange to the constitution and must be resisted by well-meaning Nigerians.
“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.’’
However, responding to a query over the involvement of his mainstream Northern Elders Forum group, the National Director of Publicity and Advocacy of the NEF, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, refused to be drawn into the conversation, as he said the purported statement from the coalition of northern elders ‘is not from Northern Elders Forum.’
Baba-Ahmed is the older brother of the Labour Party Vice Presidential candidate, Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.
The NEF spokesperson responding in a statement via his Twitter handle (@baba_hakeem), Wednesday afternoon, wrote: “No, and the Statement did not say it is from Northern Elders Forum.
“…If NEF has a position on ANY matter, there are ways we out them to the public. We do not do a la carte.”
