Presidency says the Northern Elders Forum is a mere irritant and featherweight group lacking credible membership.
In a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, the Presidency described NEF as a General without troops.
NEF had earlier in a statement on Saturday by its Convener, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said that the insecurity in some northern states of the country was an indication that President Muhammadu Buhari and the governors of those states had lost control over the protection of the people, which is a constitutional duty.
But in its reaction to the statement, the Presidency said, “We are not surprised by this latest statement by Prof. Abdullahi, and our past position on what his group represents remains unchanged: a mere irritant and featherweight.
“The former vice-chancellor signed the statement under the banner of the 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 Buhari and its preference for another candidate. “They all got beaten together. 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.”