GOVERNOR Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has suspended his Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Yakasai, with immediate effect for criticising President Muhammadu Buhari over End SARS protest.
Yakasai had criticised the President on social media for not addressing Nigerians in the face of the lingering protests against extra-judicial killings by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
He berated Buhari for not sparing “five minutes to address the people and calm them down.”
Tweets from his handle @dawisu, had come before the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced the disbandment of the controversial Squad.
The governor’s aide had tweeted, “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.
“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.”
The Kano State Government in a statement titled, “Ganduje Suspends Media Aide Over Attack On Buhari”, said it suspended the aide over what it described as unguarded statements on the person of President Buhari.
The statement, signed by the Commissioner for Information in the state, Muhammed Garba, said, “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 Commissioner said though the media aide had said the indiscreet comment was his personal opinion, as a public figure, it would 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,” he added.
