The Arewa Defenders Forum said it has identified certain elements commissioned by Southeast politicians to form ad-hoc groups to be deployed against the interest of the North in the buildup to the 2023 elections.

This was contained in a statement by its Coordinator, Mohammed Sani Lawal.

The statement reads: “One such groups is a certain Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria (ACCSON) that recently attacked the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum President, Shettima Yarima, for merely re-echoing the North’s position on the South East presidency debate.

Reacting to the attack on Yerima, Coordinator of the Arewa Defenders Forum described the action of the ACCSON as indecent, outright betrayal of the general interests of the North to earn the stipend paid them by Igbo secessionist sponsors.

The Forum challenged ACCSON’s claim that in the interest of fairness and equity, the Presidency in 2023 should go to the Southeast as ignorance of the golden universal rule that whoever comes to equity must come with clean hands.

“We are aware that the disturbances being felt in the North are symptoms of the disquiet created by powerful Southeastern interests with the active connivance of paid traitors from the North. And at the fullness of time these betrayers would be held to account to the North to the extent of their betrayal.

“It is important to place on record that Yerima is a critical cornerstone in the building of the genuine struggle for the protection and promotion of northern interest who has staked a lot for the region.

“We therefore warm any such fringe, faceless, obscure contraptions that go about seeking meal tickets to desist from further attempts to vent their indecencies on such credible leaders and mentors who have made a mark in their selfless and courageous defence of the North.” (Saturday Vanguard)

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