The Yoruba Youth Council has condemneda an online post credited to a former aide of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, one Daniel Bwala, who suggested that the Ministers of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, and Bello Matawalle (State) might be sacked by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what he perceived as lack of cooperation between the Army and the Air Force.
Bwala had in a post on his X handle on Sunday insinuated that his perception caused the seizure by bandits of Nigerian military armoured vehicles somewhere in Zamfara State in the Northwest region, leading to a reported video victory celebration by terrorism kingpin Bello Turji and his armed bandits.
Reacting through its leader, Comrade Eric Oluwole, the umbrella Yoruba Youth organisation said: "We wish to state that Bwala just expressed his jaundiced personal opinion to which he is entitled.
'A keen, careful reading of this shows that his wrong and misleading opinion had an undertone of selfish interest, which he portrayed erroneously as a news story to hoodwink the unwary, and instigate hostility against the persons of the performing ministers for reason(s) best known to him.
"It also shows that he has a hidden agenda in pushing such an unintelligible and illogical opinion to the media space. It was an opinion that brimmed with vendetta, the destructive, and blind pull-him-down syndrome hosted by the writer, his co-travelers and paymasters alone.
"The post was fictitious, cooked out of beer-parlour stupor and borne out of the writer's wild and reckless imagination.
'The Presidency never said anything of such. The post was not attributed to anybody. The emergency and mercenary reporter only pushed his personal opinion and wish to the media space. He reported no one but himself, and thereby showed the type of a human being he is. One who should not be taken seriously by right-thinking persons.
"And who is this writer of falsehood?
'Daniel Bwala was a member of the opposition People's Democratic Party, PDP, working with that party's former presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, but who is now looking for ways to identify himself with the Tinubu administration. He has been lobbying that he should be appointed as the president's spokesman.
"However, Yoruba youths advise that such a character cannot be trusted in that the Borno State-born politician, Bwala, portays himself as a betrayal, as his antecedents show.
"A former member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, where he served as a thorn in the opposition PDP's flesh, he decamped from APC in July, 2023 claiming that he was not convinced in the Ahmed Tinubu/ Kashim Shettima same-faith joint on muslim-Muslim ticket. He said that he would not support any ticket that allegedly excluded a major section of the country from democracy dividends.
"He then jumped into the boat of Tinubu's most fearsome opponent and the PDP''s presidential flag bearer, Atiku, He immediately became Atiku's spokesperson, and maligned Tinubu whom he said he held in respect despite his initial promise."
Oluwole said: "In view of his antecedents, and the implications of the utter falsehood that he peddles concerning this sensitive issue, Bwala should be cautioned not to jeopardize the commendable efforts of the Nigerian security apparatus especially the office of the Minister of State of Defence, Alhaji Bello Matawalle.
"Where on Earth did he confirm that the ministers might "be shown the way out"?
"We see his post as a baseless attack on the persons of the Defence ministers who have been leading the Nigeria's security apparatus, especially the Armed Forces in the gallant fight against terrorists and bandits who, for many years before this administration assumed office, had been attacking and killing innocent Nigerians not only in the Northeast and Northwest zones of the country, but across the country generally."
In his words: Oluwole said: "We wish to state, and it may interest Bwala to know that the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle has swiftly moved in and directed the military to relocate its command structure to the North West as part of efforts to crush the bandits terroring the region."
"And the fictitious writer insinuated in his post that the ministers were not working and that there was no harmony among the armed forces, the same armed forces that Matawalle has mobilised to the troubled zone to flush out the bandits, an operation he would supervise himself directly on the battlefield.
"We will advise Bwala, and his cohorts and paymasters to desist from peddling lies and falsehood just to malign their perceived enemies"
Specifically on Sunday, Matawalle, in an intensified move to crush banditry and terrorism in the Northwest, directed the nation's top military brass led by the Chief of Defence Staff to relocate to Sokoto, the headquarters of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) for Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, and Kebbi states.
Also, he assured the people of Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kebbi states, and the entire North West region, that the security forces with all their might, would fight the criminals to finish and restore peace, as he directed the Armed Forces to flush out the bandits and terrorists."
Matawalle said: "We must act decisively against these terrorists to allow our people to live freely. The time is up for these bandits and terrorists as increased and consistent operations will weaken all their bases."
"I will be on the ground in the North West with the CDS and other military chiefs, leading our brave men and women in uniform."
The Defence Minister of State stressed the determination of the President Tinubu administration to protect the lives and properties of all Nigerians, and that the people's security and well-being remain the administration's topmost priority. Besides, he urged the people of Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, and Kebbi States to remain vigilant and cooperate with security forces.
Matawalle who described the incident as unacceptable in view of the support that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been giving the Armed Forces, assured that the Federal Goovernment would do everything possible to crush banditry and terrorism, and endure peace in the troubled communities.
The ministry's spokesman, Mr. Henshaw Ogubike, said in a statement on Sunday that "This strategic move underscores the government’s unwavering commitment to restoring peace and security in the region. While in the North West, they will supervise operations and ensure that Bello Turji and his bandit gang are eliminated."
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