The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has described as irresponsible, absurd, and subversive the recent comments by Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi on the person and office of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and immediate past governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike.
PANDEF’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ken Robinson, in a statement on Sunday, frowned at Gumi’s attempt to fan embers of discord to create tension in the polity, describing it as misplaced.
“It is most unfortunate that at a time when every well-meaning Nigerian should be concerned about the stability, peace, and unity of the country, the likes of Sheikh Gumi are further stoking the embers of discord, certainly intended to exacerbate tension in the country.
“It’s utterly despicable that a so-called cleric would fashion himself into a shameless promoter of parochialism and acrimony.
“We consider the call for the removal of Chief Nyesom Wike as Minister of FCT, and indeed, any other Niger Deltan, based on wild predispositions, as an indirect poke at the people of the Niger Delta region and the South-South Geopolitical Zone, in particular, to catechize our stake in the Nigerian State.
“Perhaps it is necessary to underscore some unadorned facts Sheikh Gumi is pretending to overlook: Abuja is the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria and not a sectional capital; more so, it was developed and continues to be developed with, mainly, the oil and gas resources of the Niger Delta region, where Nyesom Wike comes from.
“It is commonly known that crude oil was swapped instead of payment to contractors for building the infrastructure in Abuja, including the Aso Rock Villa. At that time, no one talked of Abuja belonging to any particular ethnic group.
“In fact, from the administration of Shehu Shagari up until the General Babangida regime, the Federal Government encouraged all citizens, no matter where they come from, to acquire and develop property in the Federal Capital Territory because Abuja belongs to all Nigerians.
“We recall that our youths came to Abuja in 1998 for a so-called “2 Million Man March” in support of the self-succession bid of General Sani Abacha and saw how resources from their land were being used in building bridges, roads, and amazing structures, whereas their communities, meshed in an environment ravished and degraded by oil and gas exploration activities, are deprived of such “wonders”.
“The contradictions the youths saw provoked renewed agitations in the Niger Delta, leading to the “Kaiama Declaration” for Resource Control and Justice in December 1998 and the subsequent crisis in the region.
“Suffice it to state that any Nigerian, from the North, South, East, or West, could and should be appointed to serve as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“Remarkably, Nyesom Wike is the 17th Minister of the FCT, but only the second Southerner to be appointed in 47 years since the creation of the FCT.
“The first Southerner, and the very first Minister of the FCT, for that matter, was Mobolaji Ajose-Adeogun, who recently passed on at 96; he served as FCT Minister between 1976 and 1979, under the military regime of General Obasanjo. The other 15 past ministers of the FCT are all persons of northern extraction. The records are there for all to see!
“Ironically, a Northerner and one of the founding architects of this country, Musa Yar’Adua, father of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, served as the Minister of Lagos Affairs during the First Republic from 1963 until the military truncated the First Republic in 1966. Nobody complained then!
“We commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his patriotism and political will in appointing a Southerner, the former Governor of Rivers State, as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory after over four decades.
“It is needful that all patriots and true lovers of the nation, particularly of northern extraction, without equivocation, denounce the dangerous diatribes of Sheikh Gumi and those of his likes, in the national interest.
“PANDEF wonders why the nation’s security agencies have not arrested the thoughtless cleric for his subversive annotations and numerous “delinquencies”.
“We are warning Sheikh Gumi and his backers to leave Nyesom Wike alone and allow the Minister to do his job. This country belongs to all of us, and no section is superior to the other!
“PANDEF implores the FCT Minister not to be distracted by the divisive antics of a few while urging him to carry out his duties and responsibilities as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, judiciously and without biases, for the benefit of all, irrespective of religion, tribe, or political proclivities,” the statement read in parts.
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