The Presidency has fired back at the Northern Elders Forum after it alleged that poverty, particularly in the North and massive social security have worsened under Buhari’s administration.
The group said it is difficult to see how ”Buhari can accept the challenge to radically improve his handling of our security situation and also improve the lives of Nigerians.”
President Buhari’s spokesperson, Femi Adesina who reacted to the Forum’s verdict on the Buhari-led administration stated that the NEF is just Ango Abdullahi. According to him, the group cannot boast of credible membership and its leader is akin to a General without troops.
Femi Adesina said “Prof. Ango Abdullahi on Sunday signed a long-winding statement on many issues relating to the North, and purportedly to the country. The former vice chancellor signed the statement under the banner of Northern Elders Forum (NEF). 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. It 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 Muhammadu Buhari, and its preference for another candidate. They all got beaten together. NEF is merely waving a flag that is at half-mast. 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.”