The Niger Delta Congress (NDC) has tackled Ahmad Gumi, prominent Islamic cleric, for asking President Bola Tinubu to remove Nyesom Wike as minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).
The cleric had in a sermon said if Tinubu does not axe the former Rivers governor as FCT minister, they will not be on the same page.
Reacting, the NDC in a statement on Friday by Mudiaga Ogboru, its national spokesperson, said Wike, just like every other Nigerian, has the right to head any ministry, adding that the FCT was built with the oil resources from the Niger Delta.
“The attention of the Niger Delta Congress has been drawn to the recent negative broadcast by Sheikh Gumi against the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, the contents of which are of grave concern to us,” the statement reads.
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“We find it incredulous that ethnoreligious extremists like Sheikh Gumi have been allowed by Nigeria’s security agencies to run amok and continue to push extremist views targeted at people of South-South extraction of Nigeria without caution.
“The recent utterances and subtle threats from these ethnoreligious bigots aimed at Minister Nyesom Wike since his appointment to head the FCT Ministry must not be brushed under the carpet.
“We would like to state unequivocally that Nyesom Wike just like every other Nigerian has the right to head any Ministry, including the FCT which was built from scratch with resources from the Niger Delta region where Mr. Wike is from.
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“While the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) takes what has now amounted to a threat of life against Nyesom Wike and other southerners seriously, we call on the security agencies to as a matter of urgency rein-in Sheikh Gumi and others like him who feel they are untouchable and continue to incite violence against Southerners.
“Failure to do so will indeed prove that they are untouchable and will set the tone for how the different constituent parts of Nigeria, most especially the Niger Delta region, will respond to these excesses going forward.”
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