Leaders of the Niger Delta have warned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi to stop attacking minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
They said Wike has their confidence and is not a political orphan.
The leaders, led by Prof. AW Obianime, gave the warning yesterday in Abuja when they paid a solidarity visit on the minister.
Other members of the delegation included the managing director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Sam Ogbuku; former Presidential Adviser on Amnesty, Dr Kingsley Kuku; Chief Ayiri Emami; Chief Tony Okocha; Elder TK Ogoriba and a host of others.
Kuku, while reading the text of a prepared speech on behalf of the delegation, said Gumi’s arrogation of exclusive ownership and monopoly of administration of Abuja by a given ethno-religious region in Nigeria is not only disgusting, senseless but also puerile, hubristic, irresponsible and divisive.
“It goes against the grain of Abuja as the melting pot of Nigeria and therefore highly condemnable. We are glad for the avalanche of criticisms against his unguarded statements from every nook and cranny and the denial of his mean and myopic position even by the Northern Elders Forum NEF.
“Going further, Gumi should know that Barr. Wike is not a political orphan from the Niger Delta; he has a very strong socio-political base. So, we take very serious exceptions to the call for the Minister’s sack and the blackmail on the President with denial of electoral/political support in far away 2027 should the President fail to do his unholy bidding,” he said.
The leaders said that they wonder where Gumi has got the right and audacity to threaten the President, and that they also wondered what electoral value Gumi carries in Nigerian Politics.
“Amid all these diversions, we urge the Minister to remain focused and discard the tantrums of a frustrated sympathizer and promoter of terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria who is sorely afraid of your noble plans to deal squarely with the menace that is ravaging Abuja.
“Gumi’s satanic utterances smack of one fishing in troubled waters whose singular desire/object in life is for the waters to continue to be troubled for him to fish. These waters need peace and stability. Therefore, we urge you to continue with your developmental plans.
“The Honourable Minister is assured of our total support as long as you are on the right track in the performance of your official duties. We would, however, urge you to be very circumspect in your official engagements. Continue to be focused, ignore distractions, and make Nigeria proud,” he said.
Earlier, Prof. Obianime said all those attacking Wike must understand that he has his backers. “We agreed to come and solidarize with you. These are the people whose voices we do not hear every day but once they appear and speak, they hold water,” he said.
Responding, Wike called for unity among the various ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta, saying nothing tangible could be achieved in an atmosphere of disunity.
“I have not lost focus, and I will not lose focus, as I want to remain focused to do my work. What is important today is to support Mr. President to achieve his eight-point agenda of renewed hope.
“So in the course of this work, some people may not be happy and some people will be happy. So you don’t expect that everybody will be happy. So when the historic appointment was made, you don’t expect people not to talk.
“You should not be bothered that people will react. I can assure you that I don’t think or bother to know who even made the statement. So don’t be worried about that. And I want to urge you to continue to support Mr. President so that at the end of the day all of us will be happy.
“At the point where we are, Mr. President will make very hard decisions, which we may not like, but at the end of the day, it will bring us out of this logjam. It is not going to be a miracle or magic, as when things are bad it is going to take difficult steps to see that the President puts things right.
The minister advised that in Niger Delta, they should stop ethnicising any event that happens, saying that it is why they are not always getting things right.
“It is not only when something favours us, then we are right, and when it doesn’t favour us, then we are wrong. In politics, there are a lot of internal wranglings, but it doesn’t mean that those involved will not settle in their family.
“So, when things are wrong, you ask questions, that is what leadership is all about. When you hear something, ask questions to know what is going on or what happened, so you can also appraise the situation”, he added.
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