The Minister of State for Defence,Bello Matawalle has urged appointees of the Tinubu government from the North to rise and speak for the administration.
According to him, now is not the time to keep quiet in the face of intimidation and threats against the government but to rise and be counted.
“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.”
Matawalle’s statement came on Monday in reaction to Hakeem Baba-Ahmed’s defence of the Northern Elders Forum NEF
Baba – Ahmed,the Special Adviser on Political Affairs in the Presidency and a former spokesman of Northern Elders Forum NEF had in a Facebook post on Sunday, 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 NEF and calling them names.
Matawalle had in a previous statement described the NEF as “political paperweight.” when the latter publicly rejected the Tinubu government and said that it would support someone who aligned with the aspirations and thoughts of the North.
However, in his latest statement, Matawalle, said Baba-Ahmed and other appointees from the North owe the administration a duty to promote and advance the good works of the Tinubu’s administration
“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.
Mr Matawalle’s statement titled
PRESIDENT TINUBU’S APPOINTEES FROM THE NORTH MUST TAKE A STAND – MATAWALLE reads
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
