Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari has slammed Ango Abdullahi and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) following a statement in which they criticized President Buhari for allegedly failing to tackle insecurity in Northern Nigeria.
The group had said in its statement that the issue of insecurity in the north is getting worse by the day. They stated that the constant attacks by bandits and Boko Haram insurgents are indications that the Buhari administration “has failed woefully” in keeping citizens safe.
Adesina who reacted to the statement, maintained that the presidency will continue seeing the forum as nothing more than Abdullahi. He described the group headed by the Former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria as “a mere irritant and featherweight.”
The Presidential spokesperson further likened Abdullahi to a General without troops and leader of a quasi-organization that boasts of no credible membership.
He wrote;
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) in a statement Sunday signed by its so-called Convener, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, alleged that the insecurity in some northern states of the country was an indication that President Muhammadu Buhari and the governors of those states have lost control over the protection of the people which is a constitutional duty.
We are not surprised by this latest statement by Prof. Abdullahi, and our past position on what his group represents remains unchanged: a mere irritant and featherweight.
The former vice chancellor signed the statement under the banner of 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.
Before the 2019 presidential election, the one-man army called NEF had shown its antipathy against President Buhari, and its preference for another candidate. They all got beaten together.
NEF is merely waving a flag that is at half-mast. 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.
