Femi Adesina, spokesman for the presidency, has said that the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) is a “one-man army” that lacks credible membership.
He disclosed this in a statement which was issued on Sunday, February 9, 2020, in response to the statement by made NEF which stated that President Buhari had failed in terms of ensuring security in Nigeria.
Adesina also accused the NEF chairman, Ango Abdullahi, of showing antipathy against President Muhammadu Buhari prior to the 2019 presidential election.
He said;
“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-organization 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.
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“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.”
The Herald earlier reported that the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) had accused President Buhari’s administration of failing the country in terms of security and economy improvement.
Ango Abdullahi, Acting Chairman of NEF has released a statement disclosing that the increased rate of poverty in the northeast proves that Buhari lacked the will and capacity required to lead the nation.
Abdullahi who explained that poverty and insecurity are intertwined said Buhari’s administration is clueless in addressing the two biggest problems that face Nigeria.
“It has become necessary and appropriate, however, to make public, the position of the forum on important matters that affect the manner Nigerians live, and the future we must address,”
“The forum regrets that by any standard of judgement, the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has failed the nation in the vital area of improving its security.
“The relationship between insecurity and poverty is fundamental, but the administration does not appear to have any idea on what will provide relief or solution.