The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has asked President Bola Tinubu’s appointees from Northern Nigeria to defend the government they are serving in or quit.
Mr Matawalle said this in a statement on Monday in reaction to the recent attack on the Tinubu administration by one of the appointees, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Mr Baba-Ahmed, who serves as the special adviser on political matters in the presidency, said it would have been better if Mr Matawalle had listed his achievements as minister and those of the other appointees from the North instead of attacking the Northern Elders Forum (NEF).
He was reacting to a statement by Mr Matawalle in which he described the forum as “political paperweight.”
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Until his appointment as adviser, Mr Baba-Ahmed was the spokesperson of NEF. He is also a relative of the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Datti Baba-Ahmed.
The LP came third in the election, losing to President Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara state, in his latest statement said Mr Baba-Ahmed and other appointees from the North owe the administration a duty to promote and advance its efforts across all sectors.
“It is pertinent to state that every appointee of President Tinubu including Dr. Baba-Ahmed owe the government a copious duty to promote, elucidate and advance the good works and commendable efforts of the government across all sectors.
“As appointees of the government from the North, we must all take a stand, be unequivocal and be counted in the roll of honours for our support and work for the success of the administration we are serving.
“This is not the time to keep quiet in the face of intimidation and misrepresentation of the efforts and achievements of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR . We must stand up to be counted for being on the part of government or take our exit,” he said.
Read Mr Matawalle’s full statement below.
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
MONDAY 15TH, APRIL 2024
PRESS STATEMENT
PRESIDENT TINUBU’S APPOINTEES FROM THE NORTH MUST TAKE A STAND – MATAWALLE
Consequent to my position on the recent attack on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR by a spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), it has come to my attention that Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed who once served as the Spokesperson of the group and currently a Special Adviser on Political Matters in the Presidency took to his page on it to express a different position.
According to Dr. Baba-Ahmed ,my stand against the unjust and spurious attack against the new administration of President Tinubu that is working very hard to reposition our country and economy for better as ‘ill-advised’. He suggested I could have done a better job in my defence of the administration where I have the rare honour to serve as a Minister.
Dr. Baba-Ahmed’s relationship and affinity with Northern Elders’ Forum(NEF)is well-known. The fact now is that he is an appointee of the administration as Special Adviser and it is incumbent on him to work for the success of the government he is part of, protect and defend the government against unjust and vicious attacks from those who hide under ethnic and other primordial interests to heat up the polity for myopic reasons
It is pertinent to state that every appointee of President Tinubu including Dr. Baba-Ahmed owe the government a copious duty to promote, elucidate and advance the good works and commendable efforts of the government across all sectors.
As appointees of the government from the North, we must all take a stand, be unequivocal and be counted in the roll of honours for our support and work for the success of the administration we are serving. This is not the time to keep quiet in the face of intimidation and misrepresentation of the efforts and achievements of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR . We must stand up to be counted for being on the part of government or take our exit.
H.E Bello Mohammed Matawalle MON
Minister of State for Defence
