Sardauna Francis in Katsina
Katsina State is being subsumed by an atmosphere of anxiety and confusion following the threat by elders of the state to undermine the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027 over pervading security and economic challenges.
The elders, under the auspices of Katsina Elders Forum (KEF), have vowed to mobilise other Nigerians to vote out President Tinubu if he fails to tackle the challenges bedevilling Katsina and other northern states.
The Secretary of the Forum, Aliyu Sani Muhammed, while briefing journalists in Katsina, added that Tinubu does not deserve a second term over what he termed selective arrest and prosecution of northerners.
Muhammed, who was reacting to the arrest of the embattled former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, insisted on retrieving power from Tinubu in the 2027 presidential poll.
He said: “We will mobilise other Nigerians to vote you out in 2027 if you fail to address the challenges faced by northerners and continue with the arrest and detention of northerners who are telling you the true position of things.”
But Muhammed’s statement did not go down well with another member of the forum who is also the current Galadiman Katsina, Justice Sadiq Abdulllahi Mahuta.
Mahuta, who was absent at a recent press conference held in Katsina by the forum, had since dissociated himself from the position of some members of the forum who attended the media chat.
Addressing journalists on Saturday at his residence in Katsina, Justice Mahuta said the threat by the secretary of the forum to vote out President Tinubu in 2027 does not reflect its true position.
He explained that the Katsina Elders Forum has not threatened to vote out or support the re-election of President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election because of the arrest of Yusuf.
The District Head of Malumfashi further emphasized that such calls did not represent the official position of the Katsina Elders Forum, “which is a non-political group”.
Mahuta, flanked by Aliyu Musa Dangiwa during the media interface, said: “This is not an elders’ language. It is not our position. We completely dissociate the Katsina Elders Forum from the statement made by Aliyu Sani Muhammed. Our forum is not for politics.
“We are a group of respected elders concerned about the development and progress of the state and Nigeria. We will not allow our names to be compromised.”
However, Katsina youths under the aegis of Katsina Progressive Youths Alliance (KPYA), have rejected Justice Mahuta’s position and endorsed that of the forum.
The youths, in a statement by its spokesman, Kabir Usman, described the call by the Katsina elders as timely considering the security and economic challenges faced by Nigerians under Tinubu’s government.
The statement read: “We categorically reject the position taken by Justice Sadiq Abdullahi Mahuta (Galadiman Katsina) disassociating himself from the stance of the Katsina Elders Forum (KEF).
“We firmly stand with and fully endorse the principled position of the Katsina Elders Forum, which has vowed to mobilize against President Tinubu if he continues to persecute critics like Professor Usman Yusuf and fails to address the critical challenges such as insecurity, collapsed economy among others in the country.”
