By Dapo Akinrefon

THE Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, Monday, called on the Northern Political Leaders Forum not to heat up the polity by its recent statement calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to resign or be impeached.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos, President of the elder’s council, Major General Adeyinka Adebayo (rtd) who said such statement was “absolutely unnecessary and obviously premature”, however noted that “making incendiary statements at a time like this, will only heat up the already charged political atmosphere.”

...After the twin blasts in Abuja

According to him, it is an accepted fact that the Nigerian state is built on a “slippery fabric”, hence impulse driven statements and chanting will only tug the more at the tiny thread that is called the Nigerian State.”

Adebayo who cautioned the north over making statements that could incite Nigerians, said President Goodluck Jonathan has not accused any northerner of being responsible for the bomb blast.

He said “we think the best course for the Northern elders to take in the circumstances is to await the outcome of investigations first, before making a statement on the issue. It is worthy of note that neither the President nor the SSS has come out to say a northerner is responsible for the bomb attack.”

Speaking further, he enjoined the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, not to drag the nation into its internal crisis, adding that the party should organise its primaries to pick its presidential candidate as a way of resolving the debate of zoning.

“Political differences within the PDP should not be elevated to a national issue. Zoning has always been a PDP headache and not the headache of the country. Such grievances should be sorted out within the framework of the PDP and should not be elevated to a burning national debate,” he stated.

He, however, urged President Jonathan not to use the bomb blasts as an avenue to “willow the opposition to toe his line. Nobody should be victimised all in the name of investigation, it would not augur well for our young democracy if the president does that.”