Arewa youths threaten to mobilise Nigerians to boycott 2019 polls over insecurity

Delta chapter of Buhari support group seeks concerted efforts on killings

The Arewa Youth Coalition for Peace (AYCP) has threatened to mobilise Nigerians to boycott the 2019 general elections if the orgy of killings perpetrated nationwide by herdsmen, Boko Haram and other criminal gangs persists.

Consequently, the youths issued a 12-week ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari and his team to reverse the trend, noting that anything to the contrary would jeopardise the nation’s country.During a press conference in Kaduna, the chairman of the group, Muktar Muhammad, in company of the secretary, Abdullahi Isa, said they were committed to setting a wide-reaching machinery via protests, civil disobedience and other legitimate means towards ensuring that youths nationwide see reason to boycott the polls or pitch tent with a candidate that could address the issues at hand.

They maintained that the primary role of government was to secure lives and property, adding: “Any government that cannot fulfill this fundamental constitutional obligation has no moral claim to political power not to talk of seeking to remain therein.”Submitting that politicians are powerless without the youths, Muhammad added that the “global community that is watching and will not see this election as participatory if the over 87 million youths in this country don’t cast their ballots.”

He also demanded “all the service chiefs should be relieved of their duties with immediate effect and replaced with competent hands to uphold the sanctity of human life and restore peace in our country.”

Muhammad went on: “The police must also be adequately equipped and trained on covert counter-terrorism techniques. Besides, the recent protest by some officers in Borno State over six months of unpaid salary arrears constitutes a national embarrassment and must be resolved within the next one week.”

Meanwhile, the Delta State Mobiliser of the Buhari Youth Organisation, Mr. Sonni Efe Efurhievwe, has called on Nigerians to rally round the president in surmounting the killings and other security challenges facing the country.The body reiterated its commitment and indeed, that of Delta State to the leadership and re-election of the president.

Addressing newsmen yesterday at the Eagle Square Abuja, venue of the group’s inauguration rally, Efurhievwe, commended Buhari for his “unrelenting efforts towards the sustainable development of the country through sound social welfare policies that will impact positively on the lives of the youths.”

He added: “We are yet to have a courageous leader like President Buhari, a man that has shown courage, discipline, and love for the youths and that is why today, I mobilise thousands of youth leaders, entrepreneurs, artisans and students from Delta State to show support and build formidable partnerships with other leaders across the country so as to ensure Mr. President is re-elected.”

On the threat posed by the opposition’s coalition, he stated: “I see no threat at all. Surely, they shall gather but despite the growing coalition by the opposition against the president, I have a strong belief that we will overcome this gang-up and win the 2019 elections from my state, Delta, up to the presidency.”Efuehievwe promised to continue to “mobilise and evangelise for good governance and credible leadership across all boards which the APC-led government and indeed, the president, believes in.”He thanked Olorogun O’Tega Emerhor and Dr. (Chief) Samuel Adjogbe for their love for Mr. President and support for the initiative.