Abdullahi Ganduje, the Kano State Governor, has sacked his Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Tanko Yakasai, barely a day after the aide criticised Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, for his failure to end the security crisis rocking the country.
Kano state commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, who conveyed the governor’s directive in a statement Saturday, said the sacking was with immediate effect.
The commissioner said, Yakasai was sacked “over his continued unguarded comments and utterances which are deemed contrary to the stand of the All Progressive Congress (APC) government which he is serving”.
“The aide had failed to differentiate between personal opinion and official stand on matters of public concern and therefore cannot be allowed to continue to serve in a government he does not believe,” the statement added.
Ganduje also “warned political appointees and public servants to guard against making statements capable of drawing superfluous controversy”.
Yakasai was reportedly arrested by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Friday hours after he tweeted that the Buhari-regime should secure Nigerians or resign.
The anger, perhaps
He had tweeted: “Clearly, we as APC government, at all levels, have failed Nigerians in the number one duty we were elected to do which is to secure lives and properties. Not a single day goes by without some sort of insecurity in this land. This is a shame! Deal with terrorists decisively or resign.
“Just last week it was #freekagaraboys, today we have a new hashtag #RescueJangebeGirls, who knows tomorrow what hashtag we will come up with? Perhaps one for ourselves when we get caught up in one of these daring attacks.
“This is sad and heartbreaking, I feel helpless and hopeless. “I completely agree. Hypocrisy is in our DNA. Imagine what’s happening in the North now under GEJ or OBJ, what you will hear is he’s the enemy of the North and Muslims, but here we are, being ravaged by all sorts of insecurity but no collective rage, sai useless lamentations. SMDH.”
Salihu Yakasai, son of elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai, was suspended by Ganduje last year for criticising the President. He was, however, reinstated soon after the suspension.