Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba political organization, urged President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday not to try to impose an Interim National Government on Nigerians.
Mr. Jare Ajayi, Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, stated in a statement that the most recent call was prompted by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State’s admission that some members of the Presidency were plotting to have the President impose an Interim Government on Nigerians.
On Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Governor El-Rufai said that because their preferred candidate isn’t in the race, some members of the presidency are using the lack of fuel and naira to delay the elections.
Afenifere stated, We are making this call as a result of the sacrifices we and a great number of other Nigerians, both deceased and alive, have made to maintain civil rule. Since 1999, we have experienced six transitions between civilian administrations and approximately 24 years of civil rule. There is no doubt that we are eager for change and capable of better administration. However, our constitution stipulates that democratic means must be used to effect that change. In this regard, it is unacceptable to do anything that could lead to a different kind of government change.
The organization’s spokesperson stated, “We are in agreement with the governor and all those who insist that elections must hold on February 25 and March 11, 2023, as scheduled,” despite not always agreeing with Governor Rufai’s position on some national issues.
“Some recent actions taken by the federal government and some of its agencies appear to indicate a desire to create an atmosphere that may make an institution of government in a manner that is alien to the constitution inevitable. This is in addition to some elements acting or advocating for a regime change that is not recognized by the Constitution. (i) creating an artificial shortage of fuel; (ii) making it difficult for people to access their hard-earned money; and (iii) failing to tame the land’s insecurity are three of these steps. The first two were purposefully created to frustrate Nigerians and provoke them into actions that can be used as an excuse to impose a non-democratic government on the people, although the latter has been with us for some time and we have been able to move around in spite of it in the hope that the incoming administration will put an end to it.
However, the Yoruba body admonished those who might be considering this course of action that they should “perish the thought as such thought-line or action portends grave dangers.”