Some concerned elders across the country, have taken exception to a recent allegation made by the minister of state (Labour and Employment) and spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council, Festus Keyamo (SAN), to the effect that the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, was planning to stage an assassination attempt, to curry sympathy ahead of the 2023 election.
The elders said the claim by Keyamo who, they noted, is notorious for making wild and unsubstantiated allegations, is a confirmation of the morbid fear and anxiety that currently reign among the camps of the presidential candidate of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
This is as they said the blackmail from keyamo was coming few days after some notable civil society organisations (CSOs) raised the alarm of possible threats to the life of the LP presidential candidate and former Governor of Anambra State.
Recall that the allegation by Keyamo came hours after the convoy of the Senator representing Anambra South senatorial District, Ifeanyii Ubah, was attacked at Enugwu-Ukwu community in Njikoka Local Government Area, killing at least five persons, including policemen.
They elders under the aegis of the platform of Conference of Nigerian Elders for Peace and Good Governance (CNEPGG), called on President Muhammadu Buhari, and the APC, to rein-in the minister, warning that the claim might be exactly what is being plotted against Obi.
In a statement jointly signed by Prof Dele Banjo (National Coordinator), Mallam Hamza Shinkafi (National Secretary), the concerned elders further tasked relevant security agencies on the urgent need to invite Keyamo for interrogation.
“We are of the view, that extending invitation to the minister of labour and employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo, will enable him provide evidence on his allegation that the LP presidential candidate, a man so loved by many, was planning to stage an assassination attempt.
“We warn that, should anything happen to our dear son, Obi, Keyamo and his party would be held responsible, more so that many concerned Nigerians feel it is what is being plotted, that the minister presented in a different way.
The patriots enjoined politicians and their followers to ensure that they play by the rules, noting that at the end of the day, only one person will emerge Nigeria’s President.
More importantly, they admonished that the interest of Nigeria should take precedent over personal ambition as Nigeria will outlive all of them.
The statement reads in full: “Our attention was drawn to a very shocking and embarrassing statement made by a supposed Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Barr Festus Keyamo, one of the spokesmen of the APC presidential candidate, that the peoples’ candidate, the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, is arranging for his own attempted assassination to give APC, a bad name.
“We say nothing can be funnier and more desperate than this statement, because it is an established fact that desperation is the slogan, and identity of the APC presidential candidate and his team.
“We are, however, worried that this false claim by Keyamo may just be exactly what his party may be plotting against the popular Presidential candidate of LP, and by the special grace of God, has the support of millions of Nigerian voters.
“It is important to send this warning to those that may be plotting against Obi: touch the LP candidate, and you will feel the resolve of the teeming youth population across ethnic, religious and other divides in the nation.
“In any case, no amount of desperation by Keyamo and his cohorts in the APC, will change the direction of majority of the votes in the 2023 presidential poll.
“In unison, Nigerians have agreed to give their youthful presidential candidate a chance to redirect and refocus Nigeria on the part of prosperity, and greatness, which have continued to elude it, as a result of corruption, maladministration and incompetence of past and present leaders”.
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