The Presidency has warned that no one or group, will bully President Muhammadu Buhari, to cave into the demands of secessionists.
The Senior Special Assistant to Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after attending an event organised by the APC Professional Forum.
He also made it clear that the President will not pay those demanding dissolution of the country to end their agitations.
According to the Presidency, calls for secession have always been used to force the previous governments into paying agitators to cease fire.
“One thing with this President – and the National Secretary (of the Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee of the APC) has said a bit of that; you can’t intimidate Buhari. You can’t bully him.
“A lot of these people who are calling for secessions; they are the problem of this country. And I am happy that reasonable opinions, reasonable voices are now rising. Is it not only yesterday that we are reading Afenifere – the most credible faction of Afenifere – saying ‘we’re not for secession’? The Ohanaeze Ndi’gbo have said this over and over again.
“So, this thing about secession; they had used it in the past. You create secession and break up Nigeria and then, you intimidate the sitting leader and then he opens the booth and he brings money to settle people. President Buhari will pay no one. He is not going to pay. And now, it is clear that having ignored all of that, reasonable opinions are coming from those states and from those regions,” he said.