Fani-Kayode denies Arewa's allegation against president
From Emmanuel Onwubiko, Abuja
PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo's Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Femi Fani-Kayode, has denied the claims made at the weekend against the President by the Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Chief Sunday Awoniyi.
Fani-Kayode yesterday described as "absolutely unacceptable and untrue" remarks credited to Awoniyi that President Obasanjo was working to destabilise the group to achieve his (Obasanjo's) perceived selfish ends.
Specifically, the leadership of the ACF, a conglomeration of groups fighting for the interests of the North, had said that the alleged attempt by President Obasanjo to sabotage the two-day Northern Governor's Summit had confirmed fears that some elements in the country were working against the unity of the region for selfish agenda.
Awoniyi said that the alleged plot by President Obasanjo was against the spirit of ethnic, tribal and religious unity among Nigerians.
Awoniyi had stated: "I have said over again that we are not on opposition set up against any government, be it federal, state or local council. We are set up to bring some order back to the North for the promotion of harmony and accommodation across all political, ethnic and cultural divides of the over 100 tribal groups in the North."
But Fani-Kayode said that the President was not opposed to any meeting by the six geo-political zones for the growth of the country.
He added that the President would not endorse any meeting on the basis of regional political groupings because of what he called divisive tendencies.
The presidential aide also rejected the call by the Southern Governors' Forum for the creation of state police.
He said the country was not yet ripe for it because governors would control the state police outfits to achieve partisan objectives.
Fani-Kayode said: "The position of the elder statesman, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, is completely unfounded and baseless. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has absolutely no reason to seek to destabilise anybody. It is the position of the President that there is no wisdom in holding meetings that continuously paint Nigeria as a country with a North-South divide.
"The President will nevertheless work against the Arewa Consultative Forum or indeed the entire North because he has in his cabinet, highly talented Nigerians of Northern origin who are contributing greatly to the on-going economic reforms agenda of the government.
"I think we should emphasise national unity rather than tribal unity. The President's response to the letter of invitation to the event in Kaduna mentioned the fact that it would have been better that Nigerians should concentrate on zonal meetings rather than a meeting of the south and the north," Fani-Kayode said.
The presidential aide also stated: "In Nigeria, there is nothing wrong with holding zonal meetings. It is in that light that the President sent a letter of solidarity to the South-West. If by tomorrow, the North-West or North-East decide to hold meetings, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will commend them similarly."
In a telephone interview, Fani-Kayode denied insinuations that President Obasanjo directed ministers from the North not to attend the parley in Kaduna and asked whether it was the President who also prevented the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) northern governors from attending the conference which had in attendance the presidential flag-bearer of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
Fani-Kayode also denied insinuations that his boss had fallen apart with the governors of the 36 states.
His words: "There is no confrontation between President Obasanjo and the governors, though they may have different opinions regarding some salient national issues. We reject the call for the creation of state police in its entirety. It is not appropriate and right to have state police in the country.
"If state police is created, it will have several adverse consequences for the unity of Nigeria," the President's aide said.
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