Abdullahi Ganduje, Kano State Governor, has suspended Salihu Tanko Yakasai, his Special Adviser on Media, for criticising President Muhammadu Buhari over the #EndSARS protest.
The media aide to the Governor, on Sunday, reacted to the ongoing protest against police cruelty and critisised the President for being silent over issues affecting the lives of Nigerians.
Tanko Yakasai, on Sunday, through his tweet handle, @dawisu, maintained that the action of the President is betraying to those that voted and launched him into politics.
He also claimed that, the ongoing protest against police brutality has not been rigorously tackled, and as such, ample response has not been given by the President.
He said, ‘Before the protest on EndSARS, there are issues affecting the security of lives in the north and numbers of projects that need the president attention for completion, however, the president has chosen to remain adamant.’
This criticism was made before Mohammed Adamu, the Inspector-General of Police, finally declared the dissolve of the unit in Abuja on Sunday.
The Special Adviser on media to the Governor, in his tweet said, ‘I have never seen a government with zero empathy like that of President Muhammadu Buhari.’
‘So many times when his people are going through a difficult time and expect some sort of tap on shoulder to reassure them that he is in charge, but he failed to do so.’
He added that ‘The ‘I don’t care attitude’ is on another level.’
‘To speak to your own people over issues that are bedevilling them has become something like a favour you are doing to them.’
‘Over and over again, you cannot spare five minutes to address the nation to calm them down, the same people you went to the 36 states to beg for their votes, it is heartbreaking.’
Governor Ganduje, reacting to this in a statement signed by Muhammed Garba, Commissioner for Information, stated that the aide made ‘unguarded utterances.’
The statement released on Sunday afternoon partly read, ‘Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has suspended his Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Tanko Yakasai over some unguarded utterances on the person of President Muhammadu Buhari on the social media platform.’
‘The state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who conveyed the governor’s directive in a statement this afternoon, said the suspension is with immediate effect.’
‘He said that though the media aide has own up the indiscreet comment as his personal opinion, but that as a public figure, it will be difficult to differentiate between personal opinion and official stand on matters of public concern.’
‘The governor, therefore, warned political appointees and public servants to guard against making statements capable of drawing unnecessary controversy and heating up the polity.’
Adenike Omosanya