Minister of state for defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, has called on Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed and other appointees of Northern extraction to defend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government or quit being part of it.
He stated this yesterday while reacting to a statement by the special adviser on political matters to the Presidency, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, on his official Facebook page following Matawalle’s response to Northern Elders’ Forum statement regretting their support for the Tinubu Presidency.
Dr. Baba Ahmed, a former spokesman of the NEF, differed with Matawalle who claimed the group was a “political paperweight” and a “burden to the region.”
Baba Ahmed, in a reaction to the claim, said the position was “ill advised”, suggesting that Matawalle could have done a better job in defence of the administration without denigrating the group.
But the minister said: “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, owes the government a copious duty to promote, elucidate and advance the good work 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. We must stand up to be counted for being on the part of the government or take our exit,” he said.