By Godwin Isenyo
The Arewa Consultative Forum said, on Tuesday, that it was relieved that the Federal Government denied any plan to invite foreign countries to establish military bases in Nigeria.
The northern group urged the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government “to forever refuse to entertain, let alone accede, to requests to site any foreign military base in Nigeria.”
This was as it called on northern representatives in the National Assembly to remained alert and be ready to reject any request for approval to set up foreign military bases in the country.
“Our representatives in the National Assembly should remain alert, ready to emphatically and unequivocally reject any request for approval to set up foreign military bases in Nigeria,” said ACF in a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Mohammed-Baba.
The statement was in reaction to the clarification made on Monday by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, dismissing the insinuation about any plan for foreign military bases.
The clarification by Idris came in the wake of an earlier letter by the ACF raising concern about an alleged foreign military bases plan in Nigeria.
But the Minister of Information debunked the claim, urging the public to disregard false alarms and emphasised the government’s commitment to existing foreign cooperation in addressing security challenges.
Responding on Tuesday, the ACF said it was relieved by the FG’s denial.
The pan-northern socio-political organisation said the Federal Government must be appreciated for taking such a bold and reassuring stance, describing it as a “soothing balm and a thing of pride worth celebrations.”
It said the development represented a victory for all patriotic Nigerians who signalled the readiness to campaign against the “rumoured” plans to host US and French military bases in Nigeria following their rejection in the Republics of Burkina Faso and Niger.
It, however, called on “citizens, labour unions, professional associations, academia, media organisations, special interest groups, etc., to continue to remain vigilant and ever ready to campaign against the siting ever of foreign military bases in Nigeria.”
Source: The Punch