A Niger Delta activist, Hon. David Tonwe has advised President Goodluck Jonathan not to succumb to what he called “underground pressure” to sack his Service Chiefs in the wake of the abduction of over 200 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State and the escalating Boko Haram violence in the North-East part of the country.
Tonwe, who doubles as Chairman of the Itsekiri National Youth Council, INYC, said the group had uncovered a plot to arm-twist the president to remove the Chiefs of Defence Staff, Army Staff, Naval Staff, Air Staff and the Inspector General of Police.
He said: “I want to urge the President to be steadfast and not bow to pressure of opponents who want to use the move to destabilise his government and this country.
“The security chiefs on ground now are better positioned to assist the foreign security operatives to tackle the insurgence and free the over 200 girls”, he said.
Tonwe decried the utterances of some leaders from the troubled region, who constantly accuse the military of being incapable of addressing the security challenges.
“Sadly, as we are talking, there are underground moves to force the President to remove the service chiefs because of the security challenges in the Northeast, Boko Haram insurgency. I do not think that is the right move. They are just few months on the job and they need time.
“The service chiefs are not the cause of the crisis in the north; they are doing their best possible to curtail the challenges and it will be counterproductive to remove them at this critical time, instead of supporting them to succeed.
“Anybody instigating the removal of the service chiefs do not have the interest of Nigeria at heart. Rather than calling for their removal, they should be supported to achieve our collective target to rout Boko Haram and other insurgent groups in the area from the country”, Tonwe added.
The youth leader, therefore, called on Nigerians to support President Jonathan and those in charge of security in order for them to achieve the target of making the country a safe place for all Nigerians and genuine interests.
