The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has described as worrisome and revealing the ‘fire-for fire’ threat issued by Dr. Frederick Fasehun, in response to an earlier outcry by the party over attempts to destabilize the country, especially the South West, as part of an overall plan to plunge the nation into crisis and scuttle the 2015 elections.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Dr. Fasehun’s blatant threat of violence and his resort to personal attacks, in response to a statement that neither threatened violence nor attacked personality, has confirmed that the party was indeed right to have raised the alarm in the first instance.
But it said no amount of overt or covert threat or uncouth verbal attacks against its leaders will force the party to stop its continuing efforts to alert the nation to the do-or-die antics of those at the helm of affairs of the nation.
”Dr. Fasehun’s statement has confirmed our worst fears. We never imagined we will be proven right so fast. First, he threatened to unleash violence on those whose offence, as it were, was alerting the country to the evil machinations of those who are scheming to destabilize the country to achieve their selfish ends.
”Secondly, the verbal punches he threw at ACN leaders in general and the party’s spokesman in particular, and his undisguised threat of violence against a party that has never resorted to violence for whatever reason, opened a window deep into his mind, to his unbridled hatred for the party and all it stands for and to the fact that he is indeed a willing tool to be used.
”It never occurred to Dr. Fasehun that Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the legend whose party he (Fasehun) is now seeking to revive in a gratuitous and self-serving act, never believed in violence and never lent himself to be used against his own people, no matter what juicy carrot was dangled before him
”Thirdly, when his response to the pipeline contract issue is stripped of all semantics, he simply owned up to our accusation that the pipeline protection contract award is closely linked to the attempt to revive the UPN and, when viewed against his threats, showed that indeed, those who want to plunge the South West into crisis have found a willing tool to be used.
”Suffice it to say that clearly written in the statement we read out at our press conference is that freedom of association is guaranteed by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.However, that freedom should not be abused by those seeking to exploit it for the sole purpose of attacking democracy itself,” ACN warned.
It said that for threatening violence against a party that never issued a threat of violence during the press conference in question; and for resorting to crude and unbecoming language against a party known for its decent language and principled stand on issues rather than dwelling on personal attacks, Dr. Fasehun has put himself in an awkward position, effectively asking to be held responsible for any crisis in the region.
”This position is not where a self-respecting elder, a patriot without patronage and a democrat without prodding ought to be found,” the party said.
