A former Deputy Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress, Yekini Nabena, has urged President Bola Tinubu to call prominent Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, to order over his recent unguarded statement and personal attack on the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The APC chieftain also condemned what he described as a sense of entitlement that is unbecoming of some ‘ethnic and religious bigots’ in the North.
Recall that, the Kaduna-based cleric had called for Wike’s removal, insisting that it would be dangerous to entrust Nigeria’s national security in the hands of Christians and Southerners.
Gumi made the claim during a sermon in a 14-minute video clip posted on his official Facebook page earlier in the week.
The Sheikh narrated that the first coup d’etat in Nigeria was carried out by top Christian army officers.
However, Nabena argued that the Sheikh’s utterances can set the nation on fire, if not properly checked.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the APC chieftain warned that the people of Niger Delta, and the Southerners in general, will no longer fold their arms and watch the likes of Gumi threaten the peace and unity of the country.
He said, “My intervention in the recent controversial statement is not about the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike alone. It is about the right 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.
“I call on security agencies to take Gumi’s reckless but deliberate statement serious. Sheik Gumi should be arrested, questioned and prosecuted. I will also call on the presidency to deliberately caution Sheikh Gumi and his co-travellers against statement that is capable of causing disunity and encourage sense of entitlement.
“Let it 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.”
Continuing, Nabena wondered why the cleric is solely fixated on having Northerners at the helms of affairs when people from the same region are heading lofty positions in the petroleum sector and maritime agencies.
“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? To 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, cannot 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,” he stated.
