Alhaji Lai Mohammed has revealed those sponsoring the Federal Government labeled terror group, Independent People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to Mohammed, IPOB is being sponsored by some former treasury looters who are out to destabilize the government of President Muhammed Buhari.
Lai Mohammed disclosed this to reporters at a press briefing in Lagos on Sunday.
He said, “Nigerians must understand that IPOB was not set up to fight for the rights of anyone or group, but as a tool to destabilise the nation, divert attention from the efforts of the Muhammadu Buhari administration and obliterate the laudable achievements of the administration.
“IPOB is being sponsored by those I will call the coalition of the politically disgruntled and the treasury looters. They believe that by sponsoring this group to destabilise the country and trigger chaos, they will realise their ambition of escaping justice and then be free to dip their hands into the nation’s treasury again.”
“Remember that Nnamdi Kanu, who led a protest at the Nigeria House in London against the Boko Haram insurgency and in support of Nigeria’s unity under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, has suddenly metamorphosed into an IPOB monster who would rather set the nation ablaze,” he said.
The cabinet member said it was no coincidence IPOB cropped up after President Muhammed Buhari won the 2015 election.
“It is a tool in the hands of the corrupt and disgruntled elements to sabotage the Buhari administration. It fights for no one but the corrupt and the disgruntled.
“It seeks to set us apart as a people, exploiting our fault lines. Its modus operandi is to trigger conflagration nationwide through attacks and reprisals,” he stated.
“Now, instead of the government being given the chance to consolidate on that achievement, it is being distracted and the airwaves have been polluted with the activities of IPOB.
“The good news of the end of the recession and its fallout is being replaced in the headlines with the IPOB show of shame.”
He disclosed that the government had seen the trend in the past and warned the public about it.
“The starting point was the rise of hate speech, fake news and disinformation. These were used in an attempt to downgrade the achievements of the administration and to hoodwink an unsuspecting public into believing that the administration has not moved the nation forward an inch since assuming office.
“Since 2016, we have been calling attention to the dangers posed by hate speech, fake news and disinformation. Our calls did not gain traction until those behind the campaign sought to overwhelm the nation,” he added.
He described the IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu as the master of hate speech, adding: “No one, including the same people whose rights he claimed to be championing, escaped his vitriolic and primitive attacks.”