Northern groups kick against attack on southern public office holders

The Arewa Youth Assembly, AYA, has observed that the continued attack on officeholders from the southern part of the country with reckless abandonment is the greatest threat to the country’s national cohesion.

Alhaji Ali Mohammed, the publicity secretary of the group, in a statement in Kaduna on Friday, said: “The continued attack on officeholders from the Southern part of the country with reckless abandonment is the greatest threat to our national cohesion.”

The youths noted that since the introduction of BVAS into the country’s elections and the signing of the 2022 Electoral Act by President Muhammadu Buhari, election riggers in the country resorted to vote buying, which is a major challenge to election stakeholders.

The statement lamented: “The CBN of Nigeria introduced new policies to fight election rigging through vote buying and equally fight the multi-billion naira kidnapping for ransom. Since then, stakeholders in the two demonic enterprises have continued to sponsor attacks on the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor.”

The statement further explained that some groups appeared to be speaking on behalf of northerners, saying that if left unchecked, would portray northerners as anarchists and people without regard for the rule of law and understanding of the principle of separation of power.

As a group, the statement said: “We will continue to work for the unity and progress of our country. Mr Emefiele who ensured that the agricultural potential of Northern Nigeria is unlocked through the anchor-borrowers programme and various interventions don’t (sic) deserve the evil they are trying to visit on him.”

The youths expressed displeasure with a group from the North that encouraged the DSS to ignore the FCT High Court’s restraining order against the Service and the EFCC in respect of the arrest of Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, following unproven allegations of corruption of national security dimension and financing of terrorist organizations.

The youths, therefore, called on the FCT High court to be prompt in ensuring that whoever disobeys its valid order is committed to imprisonment, suggesting that the same should be applied to those encouraging the DSS to do so.



FI