Northern Democratic Movement, NDM, has slammedthe President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, Yerima Shettima, over his call for a state of emergency in Zamfara State.
In a statement on Thursday signed by its convener, Ibrahim Sule Sarki, NDM said AYCF does not represent the North, adding that Shettima is ignorant of the situation of things in the region.
NDM noted that Shettima resides in Lagos, a state far apart from Zamfara and the entire North and so is detached from the happenings in the state and lacks the moral right to make demands such as the call for an emergency rule.
The group described Shettima’s call as baseless and misguided, noting that itexposes his desperation to remain relevant in the political scene despite his alleged lack of grassroots legitimacy and moral authority.
According to NDM, the AYCF leader only connectsto Northern Nigeria with his occasional incendiary press releases from the comfort of his Lagos home.
“Shettima’s AYCF lacks any meaningful structure, membership, or credibility in Northern Nigeria as it exists only as a platform for him to audition for patronage from political godfathers.
“His call for a state of emergency is a deliberate attempt to undermine the constitutional authority of Zamfara State’s democratically elected government and sow chaos for personal relevance,”; NDM said.
NDM said it suspects that a former governor is using Shettima to distract the incumbent governor.
The group said the call for an emergency rule in Zamfara was a dangerous overreach that would destabilize the state and set a harmful precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.
“Shettima’s hypocrisy is glaring. While he pontificates on Zamfara’s security, he has never condemned the role of corrupt federal actors, illegal arms traffickers, or external sponsors of banditry,”; it added.
“His sudden ‘concern’ for Zamfara reeks of a paid agenda to scapegoat Governor Dare and destabilize the state for his benefactor, who has woefully failed to govern the state rightly when he held sway.”;
The group further called on President Bola Tinubu to disregard Shettima’s antics and focus on strengthening support for Zamfara’s security architecture.
