The Northern Patriotic Assembly on Monday raised an alarm over what it said were plots by some individuals to exploit the President Muhammadu Buhari's health saga through paid protests and media propaganda, and thereby undermine the Buhari's Presidency
At a state of the nation world press conference in Abuja, National President of the group,
Hon Kwuanu Terrence said President Muhammadu Buhari's health saga has been grossly exploited to further undermine the stability of the country.
He said President Buhari clearly, in keeping with the constitution, wrote to the National Assembly that he was proceeding on a medical leave, ading that the President further communicated with the National Assembly when he has to, upon the advice of his doctors, stay back longer than he initially anticipated.
Terrence said tragically, since the first letter announcing President Buhari’s holiday there has been too much of efforts deployed to making him look incapable in staying on in office and to consequently edge him out.
According to him, there have been suggestions that the undue attention is meant to overwhelm President Buhari with stress so that his health would be further compromised.
He said, "we have reliably gathered that the inhumane rumours about the President’s health are calculated to cause a sense of uncertainty when he eventually returns to the country so that there would be apprehension about the veracity of any decision taken by him and for Nigerians to see him as someone whose body may not pull through the rigours of state functions. The plot in this instance is to trigger nationwide protests similar to the Yar’Adua era asking him to abdicate.
"Fortunately, no human being is God to be able to correctly predict the outcome of schemes undertaken in pursuit of inordinate ambitions.
He however warned those he accused of being behind the harassment of President Muhammadu Buhari to desist forthwith, adding that nothing must happen to President Buhari.
Terrance accused some individuals who he described as "disgruntled men" from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who he said are still smarting from their loss of power at the federal level as being behind the sustained campaign against President Buhari
He also identified those he accused of playing ethnic card withing the APC of plotting against the President.
He said, "Participants at a meeting recently held in Ibadan sometimes last year for political realignment of south west blocs against the northern bloc in the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot absolve themselves of being culpable in driving the mass hysteria over the health of Mr President.
"Their idea of burying the hatchet is to undo other ethnic nationalities with the reasoning that the Vice President, being of their own ethnic stock stands in line as the beneficiary if they can force President Buhari out of office on health grounds. Such treachery is not alien to this collection of two timing politicians.
"We have been clearly informed that the Governor of Osun State has set up a secretariat in Osogbo for further meetings of elders from this region to harness their best brains and further such alliances in the event that President Buhari has to continue staying back on doctor’s recommendation.
"For this purpose a refined model of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) has been activated to be launched in the coming days. Financial mobilization for paid protesters is being concluded as we speak"
Read the full text of the speech:
BEING TEXT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE NORTHERN PATRIOTIC ASSEMBLY HELD IN ABUJA ON MONDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2017 ON THE WICKED ETHNIC/REGIONAL PLAN TO UNDERMINE PRESIDENT BUHARI’S PRESIDENCY.
Protocols,
Gentlemen of the press,
Thank you for honouring our invitation to this all important press briefing necessitated by the turn of events in our dear country. The recent weeks have been dominated by the health of President Muhammadu Buhari in a development that has been grossly exploited to further undermine the stability of the country. One can best appreciate to depth to which those peddling the evil stories about the president sank to when they began the wicked insinuation about his demise – this is most unkind and is sharply at variance with all known cultures of Nigerian nationalities.
Mr President clearly, in keeping with the constitution, wrote to the National Assembly that he was proceeding on a medical leave. He further communicated with the National Assembly when he has to, upon the advice of his doctors, stay back longer than he initially anticipated. Tragically, since the first letter announcing President Buhari’s holiday there has been too much of efforts deployed to making him look incapable in staying on in office and to consequently edge him out.
We are not Mr President’s personal physicians neither are we the doctors treating him but we have strong belief that these underhand dealings are undermining his health. The hullabaloo over his health is a deliberate scheme to deny him the space to enjoy his vacation and privacy with his physicians. There have been suggestions that the undue attention is meant to overwhelm President Buhari with stress so that his health would be further compromised.
We have reliably gathered that the inhumane rumours about the President’s health are calculated to cause a sense of uncertainty when he eventually returns to the country so that there would be apprehension about the veracity of any decision taken by him and for Nigerians to see him as someone whose body may not pull through the rigours of state functions. The plot in this instance is to trigger nationwide protests similar to the Yar’Adua era asking him to abdicate. Fortunately, no human being is God to be able to correctly predict the outcome of schemes undertaken in pursuit of inordinate ambitions.
IDENTITY OF THE SOURCES
We have taken our time to observe who is saying what and with how much sincerity. We have trailed stories to the sources that leaked them to the media and we have tried as much as possible within our capabilities to know the hands pulling the strings and controlling the unanimous social media space and who has been allocating resources for the sustained campaign against President Buhari.
Following from this exercise, one can see clearly that much of the stunts about the health saga were pulled by those within the presidency. Some of these people have sponsored others to whip out the ethnic card that was earlier unsuccessfully unleashed on the structure of the number one citizen even by his party men. The grouse of this category is that they are desperate to feed their greed and pitiably feel side-lined and not being part of the inner cabinet of Mr President.
It is on this note that we call on Nigerians to mentally review the activities of the following set of people in the past weeks and see for themselves what the source of the problem is:
Disgruntled Characters in the PDP
Yesterday men in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who are still smarting from their loss of power at the federal level will not pass on any opportunity to deride Nigerians for being brave enough to call time on the sixteen years of unfortunate rule of the political behemoth that set the groundwork for the hardship that Nigerians are going through today.
Seeing the futility of crying wolf each time someone from their fold bites the dust in the anti-corruption fight and having exhausted the limit of gullibility when ethnicity and religion are used as to political advantage, this set of detractors have teamed up with unlikely allies to make political gains out of the current situation.
Their foot soldiers have been making many funny calls about President Buhari’s health even as they abuse the social media to spread lies, including the sick rumours about a death.
Ibadan convention
Participants at a meeting recently held in Ibadan sometimes last year for political realignment of south west blocs against the northern bloc in the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot absolve themselves of being culpable in driving the mass hysteria over the health of Mr President.
Their idea of burying the hatchet is to undo other ethnic nationalities with the reasoning that the Vice President, being of their own ethnic stock stands in line as the beneficiary if they can force President Buhari out of office on health grounds. Such treachery is not alien to this collection of two timing politicians.
The desperation of this group is such that they readily made up with the incoming Ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, earlier declared a perona non grata for daring to challenge the dictatorship of the party’s south west leadership. The fence mending took place in London where Akeredolu was made to see the possibility of being out in the cold once the health scare can be exploited to force a regime change.
Osogbo Secretariat
We have been clearly informed that the Governor of Osun State has set up a secretariat in Osogbo for further meetings of elders from this region to harness their best brains and further such alliances in the event that President Buhari has to continue staying back on doctor’s recommendation. For this purpose a refined model of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) has been activated to be launched in the coming days. Financial mobilization for paid protesters is being concluded as we speak.
The product of this arrangement is the outburst of key leaders from this region acting under the pseudo nomenclature of Afenifere to call for daily updates on President Buhari’s health. The assignment has been further contracted to groups that appear to have national spread even though they answer to the south west bloc after being sufficiently induced with money sourced from hurriedly awarded contracts under the Vice President in his capacity as acting for his boss.
The Destabilization Plot
The greatest disservice to the nation was the destabilization plot that was hatched to precipitate an impasse. Information on the health of the President was deliberately mismanaged under the watch of the Vice President following which a kite was flown that a cabal was after him to resign his office. Upon detailed public scrutiny, as opposed to the expected public outcry and sympathy, it was discovered that no cabal existed anywhere. The dummy was hatched by the same group and scored by their media team to paint the north as a desperate entity without a space for democratic tenets. The Vice President disowned this scheme only after sufficient damage was done to the credibility of the presidency.
This same group has been fingered as the brain behind the orchestrated protests across the country to demand for non-existing problems to be solved. All the CSOs that participated in this protests are known south-western entities. The source of their funding can be easily traced to the south western caucus of the APC.
Sahara Reporters’ Publisher, Sowore, who is known to the on the pay roll the APC southwest leader, has basically relocated to the country to supervise the recruitment of thugs, cultists and all manner of entities under the guise of social media.
Other organisations led by persons of the southwest extraction – CAN and others – have been on the offensive against President Buhari since the order was issued for the attack to begin and they have not relented. This is why the anti-Buhari protests and sentiments is for all intent the pro-south-west movement.
Our Stand
We are not going to stand for a region of the country arrogating to itself the preserve of deciding the fate of the rest of us. The constitution is very clear and a protest of ten million people will not change what the laws of the land say overnight.
It is on this note that we call on those behind the harassment of President Muhammadu Buhari to desist forthwith. Anyone desirous of wielding the powers of President should put their name on the ballot and contest election on their own popularity to seek the people’s mandate to lead and not go about it in this questionable way that we have seen.
As mere mortals, we have no control over what happens to the frail vessels in which we are encased so we urge the group from the west to face the reality of mortality. There is no guarantee that the healthy green tree would not fall before the seemingly dried one.
This said, we want to put all those harassing the president on notice that nothing must happen to President Buhari.
Hon Kwuanu Terrence
National President
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