The government of Sokoto State has urged Vice President Kashim Shettima to confirm information thoroughly before commenting on delicate national issues.
It could be recalled that on Monday, Prof. Isiaq Akintola, the Executive Director of MURIC issued a warning on a purported plan by the state government to depose Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto.
The state administration stated that the Vice President should have consulted the governor before going public in a press release signed by the governor’s chief press secretary, Abubakar Bawa, and provided to reporters in the state on Tuesday.
The statement read, “This is coming in the wake of a recent pronouncement made by the Vice President in Katsina State regarding the false story circulating that the Ahmed Aliyu-led administration is planning to remove Sultan Muhammad Saad Abubakar.
“We sincerely expected the Vice President to have consulted the governor before going public. The state government urges Vice President Shettima as the No. 2 citizen to have full knowledge of issues of national concern before commenting on them.
“As an elder statesman and a father to all, he should have facts and figures before judging issues raised by mischief makers and the mushroom social media handlers known for negative propaganda. The fact of the matter is that there was never any attempt to sack the sultan nor have we sent him any threat regarding that.”
The statement went on to say that the Sultan exercises all of his legal authority.
“We never denied him any of his freedom or rights. We therefore do not need to be told to guard, protect, and promote the sultan, it is our sole responsibility.
“The government and people of Sokoto cherish and adore the sultanate council and would do everything possible to protect the dignity of the revered institution.”
“The government to this end reassures all Nigerians that, it will continue to protect the sultanate council and its dignity at all times”, the statement added.
