A chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Dr Mohammed Ghali-Alaaya, on Saturday, urged the Federal Government to arrest and prosecute those behind plots for the installation of an interim national government.
He said the agitation in some quarters for the installation of an interim government after Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress had been declared President-elect, was the height of unpatriotism.
Ghali-Alaaya, who is also the chairman of the Kwara State chapter of ACF, made the call at a news conference at the Annual Weekend Ramadan Lecture of Kwara State Television Authority, Ilorin.
He insisted that Nigerians chose their preferred candidate among the array of presidential flag-bearers during the last general elections.
The ACF chieftain therefore wondered why those canvassing an interim government were yet to come to terms with the reality of that choice.
Ghali-Alaaya explained that it was the resolve of stakeholders in the North, particularly governors from the region, for power to shift to the South, since President Muhammadu Buhari, who is from the North, is rounding off his second term of office.
Ghali-Alaaya, who is an associate of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, observed that the call for power shift gathered momentum to allay the fear that the country was on the brink of breaking up if the Northern region continued to hold on to power.
He maintained that the fact that the President-elect got the majority of his votes from the North reflected the commitment of the region for power rotation.
Ghali-Alaaya said, “The Northern governors, when they spoke, they did so, bearing in mind that the trouble and expectation of this country is so clear; that governance must shift from the North to the South. That is not far-fetched. There have been insinuations that Nigeria will break up and everybody is afraid in the country.
“That decision (power shift) was made purely on a very good platform. They (governors) had a very good intention and everybody fell in love with that decision. We have seen that since 2019, and you can see the preparation of the people, including those in the diaspora. Every stakeholder in this country wanted the governance to shift from the North to the South, so that, this country will remain.
“It is very fortunate that in the beginning of the elections, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu won in the primary. It is marvellous and a clean slate which was unexpected. I think everybody should be convinced that when the real election came, this man (Tinubu) won convincingly, and most of the votes he garnered were even from the North.
“It is very surprising that anybody will contest elections and win in other regions other than his own, to that extent, so comfortably.
“Nigerians have spoken, and we have done so loudly. It is so sad for anybody now to say that anyway, anybody, however highly placed found advocating or supporting any interim government in any guise will be met with very stiff opposition. Anybody who does that should be arrested and prosecuted for treason because this is the height of unpatrotism for the country.”