Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai came under fire both locally and internationally, after his statement on foreigner intervention in Nigeria, sparked outrage.
Speaking as a guest during a live television programme aired on Tuesday on NTA, and hosted by Cyril Stober, el-Rufai had said: “Those that are calling for anyone to come and intervene in Nigeria, we are waiting for the person that would come and intervene, they would go back in body bags.
“We are waiting for the person that will come and intervene. They will go back in body bags, because nobody will come to Nigeria and tell us how to run our country. We got that independence and we are trying to run our country as decently as possible and we know the history of those countries that are trying to teach us these things. We have read their history.”
However, a statement by Garba Shehu, President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, issued on Wednesday night, the governor was said to have spoken ‘strongly’ for national interest.
The statement reads thus:
“The Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari would cooperate with election observers and would not let the international community down in the conduct of the coming elections.
“The Presidency assures Nigerians and the international community that the President would do everything within his power to ensure free, fair and credible elections in the country.
“We have taken note of the clarification to a reported earlier statement by the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufa’i concerning opposition call for foreign interference in our domestic affairs and to say that latest statement by him should rest the issue for good.
“There is nothing more to sneeze at. The Governor spoke strongly in defense of national interest. It is clear that el-Rufai, our party the APC, and all its candidates have reposed their faith in democracy through general elections. They are all of the views that there is no place for violence against local people or foreign citizens in our midst.
“Opposition PDP ought to own up to the mistakes of their own policies for 16 years which have led the country to a sorry pass that has cost lives, jobs and growth instead of dwelling on diversionary issues.”
“we are waiting for the person that will come and intervene, they will go back in body bags.”
said it was not a call for violence rather a patriotic statement. “Affirming that a country will defend itself against needless intervention is the kind of statement you expect to hear from a patriot. It is not a call for violence,” the governor said in the statement signed by
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