Minister of State for Defence Dr Bello Mohammed Matawallen Maradun has said the statement by the Katsina Elders Forum (KEF) asking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reverse the decisions on the relocation of some offices of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos or risk losing re-election in 2027, does not reflect the views of the generality of the people of the north.
The KEF, had, in a statement, warned that the relocation of some departments of the CBN and the headquarters of FAAN to Lagos as well as the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport expansion project would cause the president’s reelection in 2027.
What KEF said
KEF Secretary Aliyu Mohammed, had, while briefing journalists in Katsina, said Tinubu was being ill-advised by those he called enemies of Nigeria who didn’t want the unity of the country by the relocation of the offices.
“Therefore, we are warning Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as long as he is interested in coming back in 2027, as long as he is interested in the votes of the Northerners, to reverse these unconstitutional decisions. Whoever is advising him to take such decisions is an enemy of the country.
“Such a person is not interested in the Nigerian project. And the North is not afraid of telling Tinubu to his face that we are not ready to re-elect him in 2027 once he starts moving all these critical departments to Lagos,” the forum had said.
Matawalle counters
Countering the position of the Katsina elders in Abuja, Dr Bello Maradun said they cannot speak for the north, especially on a weighty issue like the 2027 presidential elections.
He said it was wrong for the Katsina elders to make such a wild and mischievous declaration on behalf of the people of northern Nigeria when they knew well enough that it wasn’t the popular view in the region.
According to him, the statement by the KEF was contrived to cause hatred and disunity, and pitch the people of northern Nigeria up against their brothers and sisters in other parts of the country.
Maradun said: “Do Katsina Elders have the right to speak on behalf of Northern people? How can the elders who failed to support the President and their own, the former President Muhammadu Buhari to win Katsina State, make such a reckless statement on behalf of the Northern people?
“Katsina Elders have forgotten how they betrayed Buhari and President Tinubu by their failure to ensure that President Tinubu wins the majority of votes in their state in the 2023 presidential election.
“Is the protest by Katsina Elders during the 2023 presidential election against former President Muhammadu Buhari who asked them to support President Tinubu not embarrassing enough?
“Did the Elders forget that Allah says, ‘Power belongs to HIM and can give it to whoever HE wishes at any time HE so desires’?
“Yet another question for the Katsina Elders is why they did not warn the former President to stop the carnage against the people of Northern Nigeria when banditry and other security challenges persisted. Why were the Elders silent on the failures of their own over terrorism and large-scale corruption?
“Let me also draw the attention of the Katsina Elders’ Forum to the fact that when former President Buhari’s Minister of Transportation decided to locate the Transportation University in the former President’s hometown, Daura, other Nigerians did not protest against that decision, as they believed it was in the interest of unity and peaceful coexistence of the country.
“I, therefore, strongly advise the Katsina Elders to think twice and stop heating the polity, but rather concentrate on what binds Nigerians and Nigeria as an entity for the development of our dear country.”
He said what northern Nigeria needed now is the security of lives and property of its people, which he said Tinubu was committed to providing.
The minister also warned that attempts to truncate the nation’s democracy and set the North against other regions would not be tolerated by the government.
He said Tinubu is the president for all Nigerians and has no interest or agenda against any of the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu, he said, “is geared towards setting things right for the realisation of maximum economic development, security, and welfare of all Nigerians.”
