Resist interim govt temptation, Afenifere tells Buhari

THE pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has again called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to resist any temptation or pressure to foist on Nigeria any form of change of government that is not a product of democratic practice.

Afenifere, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, on Tuesday, said the latest call was necessitated by a disclosure by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that some elements within the Presidency were scheming to have the President foist an interim government on Nigerians.

Ajayi said, “They were doing this by way of contriving an atmosphere that would be purported to make free and fair elections difficult if not impossible.

“According to Tribune Online, El-Rufai had, on a Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, alleged that some elements in the Presidency were using the lingering fuel and naira scarcity to frustrate the conduct of the elections because their preferred candidate is not in the race.

“The governor reiterated this position in an interview with Premium Times as published on Monday, February 13, 2023.

“We are making this call because of the sacrifices we, along with many other Nigerians, dead and alive, have made to ensure that we have civil rule. We are happy that we have had about 24 years of civil rule and six transitions between one civilian administrations to another since 1999.

“There is no doubt that we can have better administrations and that we are desirous of having a change. But that change must be through democratic means as enshrined in our constitution. It is in this respect, anything that could prompt the change of government through any other means is unacceptable.”