The Presidency and the National Assembly have been urged to put the interest of the nation above any other interests to reach an amicable resolution over the fate of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu.
Should dialogue failed to resolve the impasse over the EFCC boss, the National Assembly has been urged to approach the court to seek interpretation of the contentious issue instead of heating up the polity.
Making the call at a news conference in Abuja, the Chairman of the Patriotic Movement of Nigeria, Malam Bello Abdulkadir said this has become necessary given the fact that Nigeria is currently facing challenges of development, national cohesion, security, poverty and unemployment.
Malam Bello also urged the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to take practical steps towards addressing the issues that have kept Nigeria fragmented in the past few months along its geo-political and ethno-cultural fault lines.
Malam Bello was flanked at the briefing by other members of the group such as a former NADECO Chieftain, Dr Udenta O Udenta, former PDP Gubernatorial aspirant in Adamawa state, Dr Umar Ado, Former Commissioner for Information in Kano state, Dr Farouk B. Farouk, Pastor Godwin Akpobi, Special Adviser to Gombe state governor, Hajiya Aisha Hashidu and a former political Adviser to Ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, Alh Hussaini Jallo.
He told journalists that the intervention of the group at this critical period was to save the country from imminent crisis and initiate a national conversation that would preserve the unity of Nigeria as a collective inheritance of all Nigerians.
Malam Bello said: “the events of the past few months-defined by mutual recriminations, angst,and acrimonious diatribe -across our ethnic-cultural and geo-political frontiers is a source of deep worry to all genuine patriots.
“We are truly alarmed at this turn of events. To keep silent as abusive language and insults are freely hurled in all directions is not an option. Now is the time to redirect our energy towards productive citizens’ dialogue under-girded by commonsense, civility, humility, logic and rational thought even as we canvass positions dear to our heart.
Now is the time to silence the drums of war and sings the hymns of peace. Now is the time to return our swords to their scabbard and raise instead the spectre of love”, asserted as he promised to use the platform of his group to bring all the warring ethnic groups together for the good of the country.
We also pledge to develop a strategic plan of action centered around public advocacy and strategic communication that will seek a buy-in by different ethnic, social and cultural groups aimed at de-escalating and ultimately arresting and overcoming the rising tide of separatist agitations and sectarian and ethno-cultural tensions, Malam Bello stated.