Plots by some prominent Islamic clerics particularly Sheikh Ahmad Gumi and Bashir Sheikh Jaafar Katsina to remove Nyesom Wike as FCT minister deepen.
Just as the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) on Friday asked security agencies to check the overbearing untouchable Sheikh Gumi and others who are inciting violence against Wike and the South-South.
The Congress also said that Wike has the right as a Nigerian to serve as minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and that if security agencies failed to do it work they would respond.
Ahmad Gumi had in a sermon issued a threat to the President to remove Wike and added that if Tinubu does not axe Wike, they will not be on the same page.
“The minister of the FCT is a devilish man. When he was appointed, I told you he was devilish, and some people were grumbling,” Gumi said.
“Tinubu should remove the minister of FCT or we will not be on the same page with him.”
According to Gumi, “He went and brought the Israeli ambassador. Someone sent it to me, but I have yet to see it and confirm.
“But what is confirmed is he (Wike) said he will collaborate with the Israelis to improve Abuja’s security. Therefore, Abuja will now be like Tel Aviv where when they see anyone with a beard like us, they will say it is Bin Laden and kill him.”
Another cleric, Bashir Sheikh Jaafar Katsina probably trying to incite a riot, amidst the ongoing war between Palestine in Gaza and Israel took time and authored a 6-minute and 16-second Hausa audio on WhatsApp claiming that the FCT minister openly supports the retaliatory attacks on Palestine.
Sheikh Jaafar said Wike voiced support at a meeting with the Israel Ambassador in Abuja during a courtesy call on the minister.
The FULL-TEXT of the Hausa audio containing Sheikh Jaafar’s claim was translated into English by the PRNigeria translation desk which also found the claim to be false after a thorough verification from videotape of the courtesy visit.
The translated hate audio reads, “Assalamualaikum… My Nigerian and world Muslim brothers. I did this voice note to express my sadness over the conduct of the Minister of Abuja. We are a country of different religions and the constitution has recognized that. But he invited the ambassador of Israel to his office which was decorated with Nigerian and Israeli flags, where he condemned the Palestinian attacks on Israel on AIT TV Channel.
“As Muslims, that is derogatory to our religion because his job is to fix Abuja…the Minister of Foreign Affairs is responsible for such condemnation, but he didn’t do that due to the religious diversity of the country and our togetherness. But to show his hatred for Muslims as he did when he was governor of Rivers when he said that his state is Christian, not a Muslim state, he is now in Abuja—a Muslim-dominated region in the North—to show Muslims that he is not with them. That is what he implies.
”Hosting the ambassador of Israel to condemn the attack on his country is derogatory to Muslims. Therefore, I call on the Muslim faithful to pray earnestly to Allah to protect the North and the country from the calamity Wike wants to bring to Nigeria because we don’t know the magnitude of the damage it could cause if it metamorphoses into something terrible.
“Therefore, I urge Muslims and patriotic Christians, especially clerics and traditional leaders to warn Wike and tell the public that he didn’t speak for Nigeria but for himself, considering his hatred for Islam…my name is Bashir Sheikh Jaafar Katsina.”
Specifically reacting to Gumi’s utterances 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, including the FCT that 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 Gumi against the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, the contents of which are of grave concern to us,” the statement reads.
“We find it incredulous that ethno-religious 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 ethno religious 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.
“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,” the statement added.