The presidency on Sunday has called the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) as a mere irritant and a featherweight following the statement of the group on the deteriorating insecurity in the north.
The group’s convener, Prof. Ango Abdullahi has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari and some northern states governors have failed in protecting the lives and properties of the people, an indication that they have lost control of their constitutional duty.
While reacting to the statement, the presidency through Femi Adeshina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity said the presidency was not surprised by this latest statement by Prof. Abdullahi, saying that its past position on what the group represents remains unchanged: “a mere irritant and featherweight.”
“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.”
He said the forum is “a quasi-organisation 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.”
