Somtochukwu

Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has suspended his Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Yakasai, for criticising the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).

The PUNCH reports that Yakasai lambasted Buhari for not addressing Nigerians amid national outrage as well as days of online and offline protests against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force.

Yakasai, who tweeted through his handle, @dawisu, had said the President has no empathy for Nigerians by his inaction.

The media aide wrote this shortly before the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced the disbandment of SARS in Abuja on Sunday afternoon.

Yakasai 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.”

Reacting in a statement, the Kano State Government described Yakasai’s comments as “unguarded utterances”, noting that his suspension was with immediate effect.

The statement was titled ‘Ganduje Suspends Media Aide Over Attack On Buhari’ and signed by the Commissioner for Information, Muhammed Garba.

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.”

Ganduje had in April sacked the state’s Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mu’azu Magaji, for celebrating the death of the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

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