TheCable

Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence, says northern appointees must not be silent in the face of intimidation or misrepresentation of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Bello said this following comments by Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF).

Matawalle had described the NEF as a “political paperweight” for saying the north made a mistake voting Tinubu in 2023.

In social media posts on Sunday, Baba-Ahmed, who is the special adviser on political matters in the office of vice-president Kashim Shettima, said it would have been better for the Tinubu administration if Matawalle had listed his achievements as minister — and the achievements of the other northern appointees — instead of attacking NEF.

“Scathing criticism of NEF by junior minister of defence, Matawalle, is ill- advised. He could have done a better job for this admin if he identified contributions of especially northern ministers and other appointees like me to improving security and reducing poverty in the North,” Baba-Ahmed wrote on X. 

In a riposte on Monday, the minister said it is the duty of any appointee to defend and promote the administration they work for.

“Dr. Baba-Ahmed’s relationship and affinity with Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) is well-known,” Matawalle said.

“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.”

He added that northern appointees must defend the government or take their exit.