By Fisayo Akinduro

Chairman of Lagos Airport Hotel, a subsidiary of the O’dua Group of Companies, Prince Peter Oyeleye Fasua, has hit back at those he described as “fifth columnists” and “some power-drunk northern politicians,” blaming them for orchestrated attempts to undermine Vice President Kashim Shettima and destabilise President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Reacting to the controversial statement by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, who called Shettima a “flat spare tyre” and advised him to resign, Fasua said the comment was not only reckless but an extension of a larger northern political agenda to retain power at all costs.

According to Fasua, the current agitation from the North stems from an unhealthy obsession with political power.

“A few elements from the North are power drunk and power drunkards. What exactly is their problem?

“Power left them less than two years ago and they are already dying for it again?”, he queried.

Fasua noted that past presidents like Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who was terminally ill, and Muhammadu Buhari, who spent months abroad on medical treatment, had genuine reasons to hand over power temporarily.

“But Tinubu is not sick. He is sound, healthy and fully in charge. So why this desperate clamour as if the President is incapacitated?” he further questioned.

He said the comparison being made between Tinubu and former leaders who were battling for their lives was completely out of place.

“There’s a settled government in place. Tinubu is fit and leading. So what exactly are they looking for? Must it always be about power? They can hardly survive without politics; it’s politics morning, politics night,” he fumed.

He, as such, warned that if Nigerians allowed these forces to destroy Shettima, they would end up destabilising the government.

“If you allow these people to destroy him, they will. And once they do, Tinubu will have no choice but to appoint another loyal hand.

“They cannot win this fight because this government is ordained by God,” Fasua said.

He also described the ongoing blackmail against Shettima as the handiwork of idle political actors, “who are fifth columnists and have no vision beyond political scheming.

“A bunch of people with no jobs, no business, just power and politics. That’s all they live for,” he added.

Fasua reiterated that Vice President Shettima is a strategic partner in Tinubu’s presidency, quietly driving the government’s economic vision with experts like Tope Fasua, a Presidency’s Economic Adviser, and others.

“His style is not noisy, but it’s effective. That’s what leadership demands, not showmanship,” he stressed.

He called on President Tinubu not to be distracted by what he called the antics of “power hawks” who are envious of Shettima’s growing relevance.

“This attack is not about performance. It’s about envy, it’s about power.

“We must condemn this act of political desperation by these northern actors who cannot come to terms with a new Nigeria where power rotates,” he said.

Fasua concluded by urging Nigerians to reject attempts to create crisis where there is none.

“Tinubu will do his eight years. Let no one be deceived. This country must move forward, not backward,” he declared.