The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has described Northerners plotting against President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections as ‘’unpatriotic’ politicians.
Matawalle who is a former Zamfara State governor, accused such politicians of lacking grassroots support and having an “entitlement mentality.” He asserted that northern politicians with strong bases firmly supported Tinubu.
His comments came shortly after Salihu Lukman, a former national vice chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), rebuked northern politicians in Tinubu’s administration. Lukman, who recently resigned from the ruling party, claimed that northern politicians serving in Tinubu’s government have been reduced to mere sycophants and cheerleaders. Read here.
In a statement issued on Matawalle’s behalf by the spokesman of the Ministry of Defence, Henshaw Ogubike, the minister expressed confidence that the alleged plot would fail, citing the region’s substantial benefits under Tinubu’s leadership. He urged northern political leaders to unite behind Tinubu to further his Renewed Hope agenda and improve the country’s economy and politics.
Matawalle highlighted key appointments of northerners in Tinubu’s government, including his own role as Minister of State for Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar as Minister of Defence, Atiku Bagudu as Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Muhammed Idris as Minister of Information and National Orientation, Ali Pate as Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Abubakar Kyari as Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Jamila Bio Ibrahim as Minister of Youths, Shuaibu Audu as Minister of Steel Development, Joseph Utsve as Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation and Yusuf Tuggar as Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as several ministers of state.
He said in the security sector, Northerners such as the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Director-General of the Department of Security Service (DSS), Yusuf Bauchi, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai, Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, and Chief of Air Staff, Hasan Abubakar, with the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, and the Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority, Bello Koko, have benefitted from the Tinubu administration.