The Presidency has slammed the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), over a statement made by the organization which described President Muhammadu Buhari as a failure in the quest to flatten the curve of insecurity in Northern Region of Nigeria.
In a counter-statement signed by Femi Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, the Presidency described the organisation as a General without a troop.
The NEF in a statement, on Sunday, signed by its Chairman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, NEF said that the insecurity in some northern states of the country was an indication that President Buhari and the governors of those states have lost control over the protection of the people which is a constitutional duty.
Adesina in reaction to the statement made by the group said it was not surprised by the latest statement by Prof. Abdullahi, insisting that its past position on what the NEF represents remains unchanged: “a mere irritant and featherweight.”
“The former vice chancellor signed the statement under the banner of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF). Hearing that title, you would think the body was a conglomeration of true elders. But the truth is that NEF is just Ango Abdullahi, and Ango Abdullahi is NEF. It is a quasi-organization that boasts of no credible membership, and its leader is akin to a General without troops,” Adesina said.
The Presidency recalled that before the last presidential election, the organization, which it described as a one-man army, had “shown its antipathy against President Buhari, and its preference for another candidate. They all got beaten together.”
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The Presidency in the statement said that Prof. Ango Abdullahi-led NEF was merely waving a flag that is at half-mast.
It said that President Buhari “steadily and steadfastly focuses on the task of retooling Nigeria, and discerning Nigerians know the true state of the nation. They don’t need a paper tiger to tell them anything.”
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