… Say his views not that of the President
The Presidency yesterday reacted to the Mamman Daura’s comment about zoning in Nigeria, admitting that he is entitled to his opinion as an elder statesman but that those views expressed were not the views of the President.
The clarification was in reaction to widespread controversy that followed Daura’s submission on BBC Hausa Service last week that competence not geography would determine who takes over as Nigeria’s president in 2023.
His pronouncement has been criticised by many individuals and groups, who accused him of flying a northern kite ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.
However, Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, in a statement titled, “Malam Mamman’s Views Are His Own, and He Has Said So,” noted that the presidency had since the expression of those views been inundated with requests for presidential reaction.
He said the opinion of Daura was solely his, and did not in any way reflect the position of the president or his administration.
The statement also said at the age of 80, and having served as the Editor, and subsequently the Managing Director of the New Nigerian Newspapers, Daura was eminently qualified to express his views as guaranteed in the constitution.