The South-West Frontiers has expressed concern over reports that some people claiming to be President Bola Tinubu's supporters are plotting the unlawful detention of prominent candidates for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate Presidency, including the former governor of Zamfara Abdulaziz Yari, who is running for Senate President.
In a forceful statement, Frontiers chairman Kolawale Adediji Kazeem called the action a provocative, unjustified, and uninvited attempt to damage the Tinubu Presidency and sow discord among the Northern political friends of the South-West.
"We watch as certain desperate politicians deliberately try to make it look like the President is fighting his own war, when in fact he isn't, in order to draw him into their own self-serving conflict.
"For the avoidance of doubt, the South-West would not allow any action motivated by a few people's egos that would put the president of the South-West in conflict with any of its allies, notably the North.
"We thus issue a warning to anyone who feels it is their responsibility to drag our president, a well-respected cosmopolitan Democrat, into the murky waters of their questionable agenda, saying that we are more than willing to defend our president at all costs.
"To our beloved president, we once again reaffirm our faith in his skill and capability to handle whatever leadership the legislative offers for the welfare of the nation.
"We urge him to avoid unsavory company and to reject any pressure to behave in a way that is against democracy and the constitution.
"While urging the President to permit the democratically mandated process to play out in the selection of the National Assembly's leadership, we implore all candidates to resist being the victim of intimidation or extortion."