A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, has called for the arrest of controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, over his recent comments.
Recall that Gumi had earlier this week said it was dangerous to entrust Nigeria’s national security to Christians and Southerners, adding that President Bola Tinubu would be stopped from serving for eight years.
The cleric stated this while condemning the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, for receiving the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria in his office and planning to collaborate with Israel over security issues in Abuja.
Gumi also accused the minister of planning to make Abuja an extension of Tel Aviv, stressing that bearded Muslims in the city would be tagged Osama Bin Ladin and killed.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, Nabena called on the country’s security agencies to arrest the Kaduna-based Islamic cleric over his verbal attack on Wike and Southerners.
He warned that no evil must befall the minister throughout his tenure, adding that Gumi and others like him would be held responsible by the Niger Delta people if anything goes wrong.
The former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC said he expects all the voices of reasoning to speak out because the sense of entitlement of Gumi and his cohorts is becoming more satanic.
Nabena maintained that some Northerners’ sense of entitlement was not only dividing the nation but making them see Southerners as inferior to them in a country where everyone was supposed to have equal rights.
He noted that the people of the Niger Delta and Southerners in general would no longer fold their arms while the likes of Sheik Gumi spit on their faces irrespective of political or religious beliefs.
He said: “My intervention in the recent controversial statement is not about the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, alone, it is about the rights of the Niger Delta people and the Southerners in general. At this stage, we expect all the voices of reasoning to speak out because the sense of entitlement of the likes of Sheik Gumi is becoming more satanic.
“How can you justify the rationale behind some Northerners heading some positions that are naturally meant for the people of Niger Delta and the South? Up till date, a Northerner is still the GMD of NNPCL.
“If religious and ethnic bigots like Gumi and others are saying a Southern Christian, especially from the oil-rich Niger Delta, can not hold the positions of FCT Ministry and the Senate President, we demand explanations on what qualifies a Northern Muslim in the leadership of agencies like NIMASA, NNPCL, NPDC, NLNG, NPA, and so on.”
Nabena called on the presidency to caution Gumi and his co-travellers against making reckless public comments that could lead to a more divided country.
He also asked the presidency to urgently make a bold statement and reaffirm the right of any Nigerian to hold public office anywhere in Nigeria, saying that no Nigerian was more a Nigerian than anyone else.
“I will call on the presidency to deliberately caution Sheik Gumi and his co-travellers against a statement that is capable of causing disunity and encouraging a sense of entitlement.
“I will also call on the security agencies to take Gumi’s reckless but deliberate statement seriously. Sheik Gumi should be arrested, questioned and prosecuted.
“Let it also be on record that we, the Niger Delta sons and daughters, will hold Sheik Gumi responsible if any evil befall Nyesom Wike throughout his days in office as FCT Minister,” Nabena warned.
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