By Chesa Chesa
The Presidency on Sunday waved off criticisms by leader of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) against President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that they amount to ranting of a paper tiger and General without troops.
Referring to a statement on the state of the nation issued earlier in the day by Abdullahi, presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, blasted the NEF as one army not comprising of any credible Northern elder, but represents Abdullahi alone.
Adesina recalled that Abdullahi had mounted opposition to Buhari’s re-election in the 2019 presidential poll but was roundly beaten alongside his preferred candidate.
The statement reads: “Professor 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-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.
“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.”
