A northern youth group called the Arewa Youth Integrity Forum (AYIF) has called on the Peoples Democratic Party, presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to formally distance himself from Femi Fani Kayode and the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

AYIF said that Fani-Kayode and Kanu “are running their personal battles against substance abuse but our empathy cannot extend to the willful choice to demonize other ethnic groups and call for violence against them”.

The youth group vowed to stop Atiku if he did not publicly disown Fani-Kayode and the pro-Biafra group leader.

In a statement by the National President of AYIF, Adamu Adamu, he wondered why Atiku, would associate himself with the likes of Fani-Kayode, who had alleged a “military abduction and assassination of Kanu and did not deem it proper to apologise to Nigerians for his lies but simply pretended as if he never made such outlandish claims and switched to talking political alliance”.

WuzupNaija recalls that Fani Kayode had announced that he spoke with his “brother” Kanu after the latter resurfaced in Jerusalem.

In a tweet, Fani-Kayode said, he was delighted at the fact that Kanu is still alive and well. He also added that they have agreed to work together to vote out the current administration.

READ ALSO: IPOB! Mixed reactions trail Nnamdi Kanu’s sudden appearance in Jerusalem

The statement reads:

“AYIF has followed with concerns the reappearance of the wanted leader of the terrorist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and the invitation to anarchy by one of those standing trial for corruption, Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK), who disclosed that Kanu has agreed to work for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming elections.

“We find it odd that Fani-Kayode, who had alleged a military abduction and assassination of Nnamdi Kanu did not deem it proper to apologise to Nigerians for his lies but simply pretended as if he never made such outlandish claims and switched to talking political alliance.

“His lies about the “Hausa/Fulani imperialists” killing Kanu had placed the lives of persons of these ethnicities at risk while also pushing the entire country to the edge of a meltdown. His lack of remorse shows that it is something he will attempt again in no distant time.

“AYIF further reminds Nigerians that prior to jumping bail, Kanu, with his followers, had consistently referred to Nigeria as a zoo and the citizens as animals that do not deserve to live. His inflammatory provocations got to a point where Nigerians were angered to a point of issuing quit notices against each other along ethnic lines even as Kanu’s IPOB continued to call for the disintegration of the country.

“It, therefore, borders on insanity for the same Kanu to reappear today and be declaring to be part of the nation’s political process without first renouncing his separatist stance and demand for violence against Hausa/Fulani.

“The hatred of the two men against Hausa/Fulani remains evident from the comments of their followers on online platforms and there is no proof they have tried to call their radicalized followers to order.

“The alliance they are talking about is nothing but trying to create a publicly acceptable platform for their hate mongering. They have nothing good to offer Nigerians.

“Ordinarily, the alliance between the duo do not bother us in the least since the leading candidates in the race for presidency are from the north; but we find it repulsive that men who have not properly proven themselves as being free of mental illness are jostling to take leading role in how Nigerians decide.

“One of them is standing trial for treason and the other is on trial for capital corruption so they have the incentives to deliberately cause provocations that will destroy the country and ensure that Nigeria no longer exists as a country to conclude their trial.

“We, therefore, warn the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that he risks losing the support of Arewa if he associates his campaign with Femi Fani-Kayode and Nnamdi Kanu, who have both repeatedly declared their disdain and hatred for Nigerians from the northern parts of the country.

“We find it abominable that Fani-Kayode, who sees Arewa as a plague and Kanu that sees us as animals can today be attempting to hitch a ride on Atiku Abubakar’s PDP ticket when they still hold steadfastly to their genocidal views against Hausa/Fulani. If they successfully hitch the ride they seek then we will rather mobilize for the person the PDP is seeking to unseat.

“Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the PDP must immediately formally distance themselves from FFK and Kanu failing which AYIF will be compelled to mobilize other Arewa youth groups to express their displeasure with the PDP. The dissociation from this duo include restricting them from making any statement whatsoever on behalf of Alhaji Abubakar or the PDP presidential campaign.

“We do not envisage that the party has anything to lose because four years ago when Fani-Kayode was serving as PDP Chief media strategist his only strategy was to alleged that the then-candidate Muhammadu Buhari will die but not only did he win the election but has remained alive.”