Posted by From LUCKY NWANKWERE, Abuja on
Against persistent rumours of security alert at the Presidential Villa all through the weekend, the Presidency Sunday evening called on all Nigerians to go about their legitimate duties, saying there was no iota of truth in the insinuations.
The special assistant to the president, Mallam Uba Sani fingered Vice President Atiku Abubakar as being behind the rumours making the rounds that he (Atiku) was under security threat in his desperate move to blackmail President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Presidency.
He told the Daily Sun that it was a pity that the vice president who he said still enjoys all the privileges attached to his office would choose to mislead the public by raising false alarm about being under security threat.
'As far as we are concerned, the so-called alarm raised by the vice president of a security threat against him is nothing but a calculated attempt to blackmail Mr. President and the Presidency.
'In fact, Mr. Vice President is only preparing ground to move to another political party and he felt the convenient way to go about that is by misleading Nigerians and raising false alarm.
'Up to this moment, Mr. Vice President enjoys all the privileges attached to his office. So, to suggest that there is any threat against him of any arrest is false, unfounded and should be ignored by all well meaning Nigerians," he stated.
Sani said as a true democrat and one who believes in the rule of law, there was no way President Obasanjo would approve of such an unconstitutional thing of having the vice president threatened in any manner.
He called on Nigerians to ignore the false alarm being raised by Atiku and his group and the erroneous impression being created that all was well with the country, saying the so-called threat was a figment of the imagination of those behind it.
'Mr. President is a true democrat who believes in the rule of law and democracy. He will never do anything that is unconstitutional and against the rule of law. Thereafter, we call on Nigerians to disregard and condemn the vice president's insinuation because there is no iota of truth in it," he added.
However, in a telephone interview with Daily Sun, Mallam Garba Shehu, spokesman for Vice President Atiku Abubakar said what may have given rise to the rumours was the fact that the VP and his wife were both away from the official residence at the weekend.
'From time to time, the VP goes to his private residence to rest. His wife also travelled on Friday. There is no cause for alarm at all," Shehu stated.