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Ganduje suspends aide who criticised Buhari over #EndSARS
BY NICHOLAS ABE
Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has suspended his Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Tanko Yakasai, over a tweet the media aide posted, attacking President Muhammadu Buhari.
Yakasai had slammed Buhari over his handling of issues related to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police.
“I’ve never seen a govt with zero empathy like that of Buhari,” Yakasai tweeted with his verified Twitter handle @Dawisu on Saturday.
“So many times, when his people are going through difficult time and expect some sort of shoulder to reassure them that he is in charge, but he failed to do so.” The tweet has been deleted by Yakasai.
The state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who conveyed the governor’s directive in a statement on Sunday, said the suspension was with immediate effect.
He said that though the media aide had said the tweet was his personal opinion, as a public figure it would be difficult to differentiate between personal opinion and official position on matters of public concern.
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The governor therefore warned political appointees and public servants to guard against making statements capable of drawing unnecessary controversy and heating up the polity.
The statement reaffirmed the commitment of Governor Ganduje to the policies and programmes of President Buhari’s administration.
Though President Buhari had met with the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and had appealed for calm, Yakasai believed that the president demonstrated insensitivity by not addressing the nation in a broadcast.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, Sunday dissolved the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) across the federation, following the #EndSARSnow nationwide protests.