The ruling party also reaffirmed its stand on the sanctity of Nigeria’s unity, insisting that it would not support any attempts at disintegration.
APC deputy national chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu, made this assurance in a statement, saying that the party, while not interfering with the statutory works of the security agencies, would continue to do everything possible to guarantee security of life and property in all parts of the country.
This was just as it enjoined everyone to support and cooperate with the agencies in the country.
“But in complimenting the works of the security agencies, everyone must support and cooperate with the agencies.
“Security is everyone’s business. As such, and as of today, I can assure Nigerians that traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth groups and other opinion moulders in the North are busy sensitizing the northern populace to maintain restraint and avoid any sort of reprisal arising from the attacks on Northerners in Abia and Rivers states. The Igbo communities living in the North have also been reassured of safety and I assure you they are going about their normal businesses,” the APC chieftain said.
Senator Shuaibu, however, said what the APC would not give assurance to was any discussion challenging the corporate existence of the country as one indissoluble entity.
According to him, “The issue of security of life and property has always been one of the main agenda of the APC and I am bold to say that we are succeeding. In spite of current security challenges, you will agree with me that it is not the same as when we took over the government.”
“Yes, we can always negotiate every aspect of the nation’s resources aimed at improved unity, but what is non-negotiable is the oneness of Nigeria. It’s indivisibility is sacrosanct. Nigeria, as a multiethnic and multicultural nation, is bound to accept changes in our constitution to reflect various genuine agitations that could further foster unity,” he added.
Shuaibu, who also likened the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) agitation to a deceitful attempt at providing cover for corruption, lamented that the upheaval as orchestrated by the separatist group was threatening the APC-led government’s promise and resolve to guarantee security of life and property.
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“The IPOB resurgence is deliberate and it has to do with the stand of President Muhammadu Buhari on corruption. Naturally, when you fight corruption, it fights back and it does so dirty. Corruption targets all angles of governance, with the aim of a suicide bomber not minding who could be a victim or even threatens the country’s nationhood,” he said.
Speaking on the forthcoming Anambra elections, which had come under IPOB threat, as the recently classified terrorist group repeatedly warned that no election would take place in the state come November, Shuaibu insisted that only the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in conjunction with the security agencies can determine the fate of the exercise in the state,
According to him, INEC has the responsibility to determine, in collaboration with security agencies, whether an election is possible in a crisis ridden part of the country or not, declaring that the APC was set for the exercise in November except where INEC directed otherwise.
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