Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, says any attempt to change the present government other than the ballot box is treasonable and no reasonable government will tolerate such an attempt.
Keyamo, a member of the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari, stated this in a two-part tweet on Monday afternoon.
His statement was a veiled reaction to the shooting of former presidential candidate and publisher of online news medium, SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, who was injured by a tear gas canister fired by a police operative in Abuja.
Sowore was reportedly shot on Monday by a female police officer at the Unity Fountain in Abuja.
The politician, who is the convener of the #RevolutionNow and #BuhariMustGo campaigns, was preparing to hold a rally with some associates when the incident happened at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, on Monday.
Keyamo, who took to Twitter, wrote, “After long years of turbulent, military govts, Nigerians have agreed to adopt democracy as the best and only form of govt. Any attempt to change a government other than the ballot box or other constitutional means is treasonable no matter how it is packaged in some sentimental jargon.
“All arguments against a govt should be geared towards persuading the citizens to vote against it at the next polls or invoking constitutional provisions through democratic institutions. Any shortcut outside these is an invitation to anarchy and no reasonable govt will tolerate it.”