Interim Government: Arrest Atiku and Peter Obi -Fani-Kayode

Femi Fani-Kayode, a senior member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has urged the Department of State Services (DSS) to detain PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party (LP) rival, Peter Obi, over alleged calls for an interim government rather than transferring power to the democratically elected president on May 29.

In a statement titled “Arrest the Rebels and Treasonable Subversives!” published on Thursday via his verified Twitter account, Fani-Kayode made this request to the DSS.

Recall that the DSS had earlier issued a warning over an ongoing plot to appoint an interim government by some important political figures in the nation.

The Spokesman for the DSS, Dr. Peter Afunanya, revealed the step-by-step ways key political players are planning to effect their plans, in a statement made available to Vanguard.

According to him, the planners, in their many meetings, have weighed various options, which include, sponsoring endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of State of Emergency. Again, the service said they are planning to obtain frivolous court injunctions to forestall the inauguration of new executive administrations and legislative houses at the Federal and State levels.

But, Fani-Kayode described the calls for an interim government by members of the opposition as outrageous, subversive, and dangerous, adding that, “but they are also acts of treason, rebellion, and insurrection.” 

“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.

“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 on 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 presents 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. It would be irresponsible and cowardly to do so,” he said.

The former Minister of Aviation further stated, “For 16 years, from 1983 till 1999, many of us fought against military rule and paid a high price in that fight. Others that came before us fought it between 1966 and 1979. They also paid a high price. 

“During the course of all those years many suffered, many were tortured, many were exiled, many lost everything, many were destroyed, many were jailed and many were martyred.

“These young ones that are protesting have no idea about the inherent horrors of military rule and what it really means because they were not born when the soldiers held sway in our country and they do not know the indignities and bondage that we were subjected to as a people during the course of those years,” he said.

According to Fani-Kayode, the fact that some are openly calling for a return to those dark days gives deep concern.

He noted that the last thing we need in our country today is military intervention, a military coup d’etat, or any other form of unconstitutional Government including an Interim National Government. 

Against the backdrop of the alleged plot of the interim government, however, a lawyer and scholar on violent extremism, Bulama Bukarti, has described the move as criminal, unconstitutional, and punishable by death. 

Bukarti stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.

He said, “This move is undemocratic, it’s illegal, and it’s unconstitutional. Section 1 of our constitution is very clear that no part of Nigeria can be ruled other than by constitutional means and the only means recognised by the constitution is for people to win an election and

to be duly inaugurated by the authorities stipulated by the law.

“And therefore, it’s unconstitutional, it’s also criminal because what these people are planning is potentially what is called treason under our criminal laws and it’s punishable by death it carries the death penalty, which shows that it’s one of the most heinous crimes in Nigeria.”