AKURE – Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has reacted to the death of a former presidential aide, Mr Ahmed Gulak, saying it is calculated to instigate northerners against South Easterners. The governor described the killing as “senseless and wicked”.
Gulak, who was killed on Sunday in Owerri, Imo State by some unknown gunmen, was a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Governor said, “The news of the death of an APC chieftain, Ahmed Gulak, in Owerri, Imo State this morning, is very shocking and disturbing. The details of the tragic incident remain sketchy. A press statement credited to the Imo State Police Command claimed that some bandits were responsible for the gruesome murder of a man who was a visitor to the state. This is unacceptable.
“This is one murder too many. It is senseless and wicked. The perpetrators of this heinous act are enemies of this country. This contrivance is meant to mislead, confuse and destroy. It bears the unmistakable, despicable imprints of fifth columnists bent on setting the country on the path of conflagration. These criminals must not be allowed to succeed.
“We want to use this medium to express our solidarity with our brother, Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma. We admonish him and other governors in the South Eastern States to brace up and confront the current security challenge to put an end to the bloodbath in the land. The enemies of the people always employ the weapon of fear to create disaffection in the polity.”
According to Akeredolu, the act is calculated to instigate Nigerians against each other, particularly northerners against the Igbo living outside the South-East.
He stated that there was a need to confront the enemies of the people to neutralise them, adding that this was not the time for political correctness.
He said, “Banditry should not be allowed to subvert the legitimacy of the current government at all levels.”
Akeredolu called on all security agencies to collaborate to unveil the criminal elements sponsoring and undertaking terrorist acts, declaring that ” they must be punished, severely.”
