The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has challenged all appointees from the North in the current administration to come out openly and defend President Bola Tinubu or quit.
Matawalle specifically called on Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Special Adviser to the President on political matters in the office of the Vice President and other leaders to take a position in support of the government.
He said this following what he perceived as comments against the federal government by the former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Baba-Ahmed.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Baba-Ahmed said it would have been better for the Tinubu administration if Matawalle had listed his achievements as minister.
Baba-Ahmed had said this after the minister described the NEF as a political paperweight which is a burden to the north.
The minister tackled NEF over a recent comment made by the forum that the north regrets voting for the President in the 2023 general election.
But in a statement on Monday, Matawalle said any appointee must defend and promote the administration they work for.
“Consequent to my position on the recent attack on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by a spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, 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 is ‘ill-advised’. He suggested I could have done a better job in my defence of the administration where I have the rare honour of serving as a Minister.
“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. We must stand up to be counted for being on the part of the government or take our exit,” Matawalle said.
Matawalle dares northern appointees to defend Tinubu publicly or quit