The Presidential Support Committee (PSC) has warned the 17 southern state governors over their insistence that power must rotate to the South in 2023, saying that it is capable of leading to the break-up of Nigeria.
The Director, Media and publicity of PSC, Dr. Kailani Muhammad, gave the warning while addressing reporters after the inauguration of its national officers with Hon. Gideon Sammani as the National Chairman at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.
He said the North would not be compelled to accept the position of southern governors at their recent Second Summit in Lagos because it (North) has the advantage of a voting bloc.
Muhammad said: “We don’t see how the governors should be confronting the President. Look at their insistence that power should shift to the south in 2023. We are Nigerians and we have the bulk of the votes in the North.
“It is a matter of give and take; it is not an issue of saying it is a must. If you are saying it is a must, that means you are looking for something- like breaking up the country. That is just a simple analogy.”
PSC likened the second governor’s summit to a gang-up against the President, saying their resolution was not in tandem with democratic norms.
“For setting a deadline to stop open grazing even when President Muhammadu Buhari has made a statement in that regard, is an open confrontation against the President. It is not a wise political decision”, Muhammad said.
He also said that the threat by the governors to implement the anti-grazing law by September 1, 2021 will result in a clash of interest between the Federal Government and the state governments.
Muhammad said: “President Buhari has explicitly explained that grazing law has been in existence for quite a long time. Even the routes are there. The Fulani used to follow that route many years ago.
“But today, it has been overtaken by buildings and farms and the rest. Like for example in Benue State, I am surprised that Governor Ortom is saying a lot of things to divide us. They have been together with the Fulani for centuries. He promulgated a law-he does not want open grazing, and that is the bane of the problem.
“This country is our own. If the governors choose that they will now implement the anti- grazing law, there is going to be a clash of interest between the federal government and the state governments. And the Federal government has a right as it is in our constitution.”
The PSC also expressed dismay with comments on the arrest and prosecution of the leader of the proscribed Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu for treason as a result of his actions and statements against the Nigerian state.
It urged public understanding for the law to take its full course without any prejudice now that Kanu has been arrested and is before the courts to defend his actions.
The body also demanded that he be given fair hearing in line with the principles of the rule of law.
The PSC insisted the constitution that mandates the federal government to defend the corporate existence and unity of the country would have been deemed lacking if it had folded its arms and watched Kanu in his rampaging campaign of dismemberment of the Nigeria state.
It appealed that separatist tendencies with self-acclaimed emancipation theories to distract the development should not be allowed, adding that calm and justice must be allowed to prevail as a landmark for the sake of posterity.
“While Nnamdi Kanu sends innocent souls to untimely death through his words and actions, he remains safely holed up in far-away foreign lands.
‘Now that the long arm of the law has finally caught up with him, we should support and applaud President Buhari for his unrelenting efforts to apprehend culprits who run away and wet their pants backstage when the going gets tough.”
The PSC noted that if there is a genuine desire for Biafra, it must be tabled and discussed in a civilised manner by more credible, experienced and articulate leaders in the National Assembly from the Southeast zone.
It described Kanu as an opportunist who is living off the fat of the land, junketing from one part of the globe to another, collecting funds from unsuspecting sympathisers.
He added: “Our position is that those who are bent on destroying the country through arson and attacks on critical national assets across the country alongside their sponsors must not go scot free.”
