Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, early Monday morning temporarily witnessed a shut-down as protesters calling for the removal of Abba Kyari, the immediate past Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu, poured into streets.
The protest with banner headlines “Abba Kyari Must Go” was staged by members of All Progressives Congress (APC) Concerned National Stakeholders.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as “Nigerians believe in President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians elected President Muhammadu Buhari”; “No more cabal, no more intimidation, PMB remains our sole leader”; PMB must take charge of the government” as well as “#AbbaKyariMustGo,” among others.
Addressing journalists during the protest, Dr. Symeon Chilagorom, National Convener of the group, said: “In this Next Level, Nigerians will not accept a repeat of some features of President Buhari’s first term.
The APC Concerned National Stakeholders said they are on the protest in order to drive their demands to the whole world, and particularly to Buhari.
The APC group accused a nephew of the President, Mamman Daura, the President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, among others of having undue influence on the President, especially with regards to appointments and other policy choices.
“Our demand is a simple one, the people of this country elected Muhammadu Buhari as their President, not Mamman Daura, and definitely not Abba Kyari.
”Only President Buhari has our mandate to govern over the affairs of this nation. In the light of that, we are simply asking that President Buhari should take back control of his government and begin to walk his talk during the campaigns by delivering on the promises made.
“These promises can only be achieved if the President is in the driver’s seat, not passenger’s seat and if he is surrounded by patriotic men and women of goodwill who assisted him during the campaign in the eyes of the world, travel the nooks and crannies of this country to sell the ideology of the change mantra to the generality of Nigerians and not those who hide away when the going gets tough only to re-emerge when the tough work is done and the battle is won.
“Nigerians will not accept the repeat of the first term, as the slogan of the 2019 campaign dictates, this is the next level and we dare ask, have we not arrived at the Next Level?
”If, indeed, we have arrived at the Next Level, then why is it feeling like we are one step forward and ten steps backward?
“By now, we expect that a new cabinet independently formed by the President based on merit and other constitutional criteria is made public at the very least, not a situation where a few members of the cabal are hiding in shadows trying to handpick their allies and cronies who have contributed to neither the growth of the country nor assist the party and the Presidential campaign in the run up to the 2019 general elections.”
The protesters, who came in hundreds with various placards, said the protest was the first step to inform the Presidency on the need to do away with some persons around President Buhari.
“Fellow Nigerians, we are members of All Progressives Congress (APC) Concerned National Stakeholders, we invite you here today to drive our demands to the whole world, and particularly to President Muhammadu Buhari,” the leader of the protest said.
“Today, insecurity permeates a vast area of the northern region majorly because of poverty and slow pace of governance at all levels; time for governance is now.
“Let it be known that despite our coming here today, we are believers in the personal integrity and capabilities of Mr. President, his die hard supporters and it is for this unshaken belief and love for the President and the desire for us to see him carry our country to the Next Level that we call on him to take the wheel of the Nigerian ship and navigate us through the murky waters of our many challenges to the promised land.
”Let him not forsake us in the hands of those without peoples’ mandate or human sympathy.”
Also speaking, Ayo Oyalowo, Head, Social Media of the Buhari Presidential Campaign, decried a situation where loyal members of the party who worked for the victory of President Buhari would be abandoned after the elections.
He called on leaders of thought in the ruling party not to repeat the mistakes of abandoning the real stakeholders for those who campaigned against the President when it’s time to make appointments.
The protest is coming on the heels after Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), accused Buhari of promoting illegality by allowing his 100 aides to remain in office despite the expiration of their tenure.
Falana had said that the President’s Chief of Staff; Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; his media aides, Garba Shehu and Femi Adesina; and others had continued with their official duties without being re-appointed.
“Like ministers, special advisers and other political appointees were appointed by President Buhari for a four-year term of office in 2015. Consequently, the tenure of all the political appointees expired on May 29, 2019, by effluxion of time. Hence, the federal cabinet was dissolved while all ministers were relieved of their appointments at the end of the four-year tenure.
“In the same vein, all other political appointees ought to have been asked to relinquish their positions. Since President has not sacked them or renewed their appointments there has arisen the urgent need to avoid a constitutional crisis whereby the actions of such persons who have continued to occupy offices illegally may be questioned or declared illegal by a court of law,” Falana said.
