A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Femi Fani-Kayode has called on the Department of State Services (DSS) to apprehend the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, over the plot to allegedly frustrate the forthcoming handover and install an Interim Government.
This came as a reaction to the alarm earlier raised by the Department of State Services (DSS) that some political actors are planning to frustrate the forthcoming inauguration.
The former minister of aviation, in a post released through his official Twitter handle on Thursday March 30, expressed his disatisfaction that the two presidential candidates and their running mates were openly calling for a return to dark moments.
He described the manner opposition actors were calling for an interim government as outrageous, dangerous and subversive.
He also described the act as acts of insurrection, treason and rebellion.
He also implored the secret police to apprehend and drag some young men and women who took part in Tuesday’s protest in Abuja to court, as they were seen calling for a coup d’état.
He wrote: “When one couple the calls for a coup d’etat with the words of Dati Baba Ahmed, the Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, on Channels Television last week when he said that he had no faith in the courts and election tribunals, that the swearing-in of President-elect Tinubu as President would be an invitation to a military coup, that Tinubu is a Mafia Don that is deeply involved in organised crime and that his swearing-in would be a danger to “all our lives”, one gets the message and can connect the dots of this great conspiracy.
“The Atiku group through their numerous spokespersons have said equally disturbing things including consistently calling the President-elect a “Pablo Escobar-like drug baron” in order to incite the people, the international community, the civil society, the people of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Armed Forces against him.
“Outside of that the opposition has also targetted INEC and the Nigerian Judiciary for a campaign of calumny, demonisation, and destruction and they have engaged and induced elements in the international community, including politicians, leaders, businessmen, diplomats, international institutions, and both local and foreign NGO’s, who they have misled and fed with the most horrendous lies and propaganda, to assist them.
“It is time for the intelligence and security agencies and the Buhari administration to rise to the occasion and face the challenge of these subversive and destabilising elements squarely and with a very firm hand.
“They should arrest those that appear to be behind this evil plot including Peter Obi, Dati Baba Ahmed, Atiku Abubakar, Ifeanyi Okowa, and their numerous spokesmen, associates, and foreign collaborators in order to find out exactly what their role is in this matter and the part, if any, that they are playing in it.
“They should also identify, ascertain and arrest their collaborators, both foreign and local, in this treasonous plot. None of them enjoys immunity and none of them is above the law.
“Shielding and protecting them from being held accountable for their utterances and actions and for supporting anarchy, chaos, treason, and rebellion is becoming increasingly dangerous and does not augur well for the peace and stability of our country.
“It is also important to arrest and charge to court those young men and women that participated in Tuesday’s protest and openly called for a coup d’etat in order to deter others from doing so.
“Failure to do this will encourage others to do the same and suggest that there is far more to the whole thing than meets the eye.”
He added: “We have warned about these sinister plots and plans for months and well before the presidential elections but no one took us seriously and it was to no avail.
“Now the signs are obvious and ominous and it is clear that there is something evil afoot. It is heartwarming and encouraging that the DSS, as alive to their duties as ever, finally issued a statement yesterday in which they vindicated us.
“They confirmed the fact that there were some elements within the political class that were planning to use violence to impose an Interim National Government and went on to not only warn those that seek to implement this hidden agenda but also to assure those of us that are against it that they would take strong measures and move against them.
“This is vital in order for us to protect and save our democracy from those that seek to truncuate it and establish an unconstitutional form of Government in its stead.
“It is incumbent upon us all as democrats to speak out in support of the DSS and to help them thwart the evil plans of the unscrupulous conspirators, dangerous plotters, unpatriotic elements and fascistic forces that want to topple our Government and abort the democratic process.
“Those of us that are politicians and that still believe in democracy must stop being lazy, cowardly, undiscerning, insensitive and complacent in the face of this challenge.
“We must appreciate the fact that there is a major play going in the background and it is not yet uhuru. We must stop pretending that we do not know what is going on and we must desist from sitting on the fence and hedging our bets.
“We must rise to the occasion that this challenge and very real danger and threat present and we must defend and preserve democracy by resisting the forces of chaos, anarchy, and tyranny.
“As a senior citizen, a former public office holder, a public figure, and a major stakeholder in the Asiwaju project, I can no longer sit by idly and stomach this nonsense. It would be irresponsible and cowardly to do so.“
