Northern Elders Reply Jonathan: Sitting Leaders Worse Than Pickpockets The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) yesterday, in a swift reaction to reports credited to President Goodluck Jonathan, in which he was quoted to have described some elder statesmen as touts, also described sitting leaders as pickpockets and thieves. The spokesman of NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi, while addressing select journalists in his Zaria farm, said even some sitting leaders are worse than pickpockets in a motor park, adding that President Jonathan shouldn’t have made such abusive statement against the nation’s statesmen who fought for the unity of the country. Professor Abdullahi who is also a member of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) also tongue-lashed the Tanko Yakasai-led Northern Elders Council (NEC), saying the group lacks principle and they are not speaking for the generality of Nigerians. The former vice chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) and special adviser on agriculture to President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration said NEF is more focused and committed to the political wellbeing of Northerners and Nigerians in general as against NEC whose members are fighting for their pockets. He said, “President Jonathan should know that in a motor park, there are touts and there are pickpockets; so, if some past leaders are touts, some sitting leaders are pickpockets and thieves. So, you have to make your pick from that. “This country is complaining about corruption and the president himself has said that stealing is not corruption. And so, for him to even come around and refer to some people as touts, he should remember that some of them sitting there are pickpockets and some of them are even worse than pickpockets.” “Pickpockets in a motor park cheat the passengers as well as the owner of the vehicles, while the touts do some works for a commission. So, you see, these are some of the things that are clearly pointing to the fact that the incompetence that we have been complaining about is the additional basis of rejecting the man’s leadership in 2015; it is now clearly showing across the country.” --LEADERSHIP NEWS
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 16:25:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015