President's supporters slam Sanusi over comments on $30b loan request

chika ebuzor

December 5, 2016 6:01 PM

Sanusi had earlier said that nobody will lend the Federal Government such a huge amount.

A group under the aegis of Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG) has slammed the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi for criticising President Buhari’s plan to borrow $30b.

Sanusi had earlier said that nobody will lend the Federal Government such a huge amount, even if the Senate approves Buhari’s request.

The BMSG, in a statement, obtained from Daily Post, told Sanusi to stop giving the President’s detractors ‘ammo’.

They also called on the Emir to compose himself and respect the revered position which he occupies, adding that he is being unduly flippant.

The group’s Chairman, Mallam Muhammad Labbo also said “He (Sanusi) should rather, subscribe to the age-old code of ethics of the traditional institution where emirs are mostly seen and hardly heard, instead of being constantly unduly flippant in order not to bring disrespect to the stool he occupies.”

He also called on the monarch to “exercise restraint in his frequent attacks on the policies of the Federal Government in order not to give cynics the wrong signal to undermine the government’s efforts towards finding solutions to the myriad of problems facing the country.”

Labbo said “As a highly respected public figure, the Emir should not engage in street tactics to make his point because the doors to the president’s office are widely open to him to offer his advice for the betterment of the country and its people.

“The Emir’s open and hostile posture to the policies of the government could be misunderstood, thereby dividing the people.

“Since the Emir is not an opposition political figure, his hostile attacks are likely to be interpreted as political, thereby compromising the neutrality of his office.

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“On the 30 billion dollars proposed loan, a simple check by the Emir would show him that about two thirds of it is for the rail project that includes the East-West and Lagos-Kano corridors that have capacity to create tens of thousands of jobs for his subjects and other Nigerians. Or, is the Emir against accelerated national development?”

Also, Mallam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, called on Sanusi to get his facts right.

chika ebuzor