The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, has refutted a report that there are cracks in the country.
He said he was quoted out of context by a section of the media. Mustapha, who had represented
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at an interdenominational church service in Abuja on Sunday to mark Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary, had warned that cracks in the country could lead to its breakup should not be taken for granted.
His exact words were: “Fortunately for us, our walls are not yet broken but have cracks that could break if not properly addressed. We need to seek the face of God to address the broken walls.”
The statement had attracted mixed reactions from social-cultural groups in the country.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere and the Pan Niger Delta Forum, had on Monday, said Osinbajo’s warning that cracks in the country could lead to its breakup should not be taken for granted, adding that Nigerians could not continue to live in denial.
But the northern socio-political group, the Arewa Consultative Forum, while admitting that there were unhealthy cracks in Nigeria however, said the Vice-President should not make statements that would worsen tension in the country.
But in a statement he personally signed, Mustapha said he did not suggest that Nigeria will break up, affirming that the Buhari-led government was committed to a united Nigeria.
He said, “I have observed with concern, the apparent sensitization of the remarks I made at the 60th Independence Anniversary Church Service, where I stood in for His Excellency, the Vice President.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I want to affirm that His Excellency, the Vice President and I remain very firmly and irrevocably committed to the ideal of one indivisible Nigerian nation.
“We are also deeply appreciative of President Muhammadu Buhari’s consistent efforts to strengthen the unity of the Nigerian nation.
“Any suggestion to the contrary is a clear misinterpretation of our common position as a Government.”
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