Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has described some statements made by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State during his broadcast on Thursday as treasonable.
The governor had while faulting President Muhammadu Buhari’s national broadcast, said some persons were plotting military takeover.
He had claimed that the cash crunch was planned along with the fuel shortage existing since September 2022 so that the 2023 elections "do not hold at all, leading to an Interim National Government to be led by a retired Army General".
Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje had also earlier made a similar utterance, alleging of a plot to destroy the country’s democracy.
In a statement on Friday, the National President of Ohanaeze youths, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike said El-Rufai and Ganduje should be invited for questioning.
Okwu, who said there was something sinister up the sleeves of the governors, wondered when they suddenly became defenders of the masses.
He said, “We are alarmed by the kind of utterances coming from the mouths of people who pose as leaders.
“In Kaduna State where El-Rufai is the governor, thousands of people have been murdered in cold blood in the last seven years but he has never deemed it fit to address the people of the State.
“Nigerians students were on strike for one calendar year but we never heard the voice of the governors.
“Suddenly, they have woken up from their slumber, with a predetermined goal to set the nation on fire.”
“We call on Nigerian youths not to be deceived by these men who are ganging up against the nation. They are instigating the youths to occupy the streets in order to accomplish their plan of truncating the electoral process. Nigerian youths should resist this temptation; El-Rufai, Ganduje and their cohorts do not mean well for the masses.
“We are solidly behind the CBN and the Federal Government on this policy. We have weighed the options and are convinced that it would be of great advantage to the masses in the long-run.
“Vote-buying has been the bane of elections in Nigeria and this new policy would tackle it headlong.
“From the CBN report, over one trillion Naira is still in the hands of people. Who are those people? What are they doing with such money at home whereas the masses are dying of hunger?
“Having said this, we implore the DSS and the Police to invite these men for questioning; regardless of their immunity, they should offer explanations to the security agencies. The DSS should also closely monitor their movement as it is obvious they don’t mean well for the nation,” Okwu added.