President Muhammadu Buhari has enjoined all Nigerians to ignore the recent call by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) to Fulani herders, asking them to leave the southern part of the country.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Mr Garba Shehu, the president questioned the intentions of the Northern Elders Forum in delving into issues with unsolicited, ill-intentioned advice.
“All citizens of Nigeria are free to move and live within any part of the country they please, whether or not they are originally from there.
“In line with our country’s constitution, the government of Nigeria and the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will protect citizens of Nigeria wherever they find themselves.
“No one has the right to ask anyone or group to depart from any part of the country, whether north, south, east or west,” the president said.
The president said Northern Elders Forum have no one’s authority to make such pronouncements.
“The polarising role of the Northern Elders Forum and all those other groups dabbling into issues of security to score cheap political points has for long been a sore point in Nigeria’s body polity. They should not be allowed to mislead anyone, least of all the Fulani herders,” he said.
He said the present administration is devoted to finding a lasting solution to the herdsmen and farmers’ clashes in different parts of the country that would be acceptable to all the parties involved.
The president called on all Nigerians to help keep the peace in the country.
