By Sunday Etuka, Abuja
The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has called on Tinubu’s appointees from the north, including the Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed to take a stand or exit Tinubu’s administration.
Matawalle gave this condition in a statement he personally signed and posted on his X handle on Monday, April 15, 2024.
He declared 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, and not to keep quiet in the face of intimidation and misrepresentation of the efforts and achievements of the government.
“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 asserted.
His outburst follows a comment by Dr. Baba-Ahmed that the Minister’s stand against the unjust and spurious attack against the new administration of President Tinubu that is working very hard to reposition the 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’’, the Minister said.
